#it sometimes takes FOREVER to find all the original panels but luckily this time it only took me about an hour 🙃

[kei-likes-memes]

Why it's such a pain in the behind to do their page 3's 🙃

Pls appreciate my efforts 🙏

Page 3 of England's section in the Hetalia Collezione

[Please remember I'm no pro in Jpns and don't bully me for smth Hima said, not me 😫🙏]

But bruh it's been forever since I worked on this, like does anybody even care about it anymore? 💀 Lol

[majorshiraharu]

Echoes In My Mind; Chapter 8 - Concerned Commander - Echo x Reader Fic

Previous Chapter

��———————————————- Content Rating: Mature+ (18+)

Warnings:  Kissing

If there are any warning labels I’m missing, please inform me.

Rendezvousing = meeting up with someone at a location Notes: Y/O/N = Your character's original name (before they went into hiding) ————————————————-

A/N: I’m so sorry this took so long, I’ve had this sitting in my drafts for forever, my notes pad deleted most of this chapter and I was struggling with remember what I had written and then I had a bunch of health problems so I’ve neglected this fic :( So I’m just going to go ahead and post this chapter so you’re not waiting 3 more months. Sorry <3

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Rendezvousing with your bounty hunter friend, you catch them up on the plan as they join you walking onboard the ship; you introduce the bad batch to them. They're unsure of if your plan will work but Echo and the others assure them that it will work out, that everyone just needed to stay focused and get in and out as fast as possible, knowing the longer everyone was there the more dangerous it would become. Stealing away Echo for a moment you slid into your room with him, wrapping your arms around his neck as the door closed behind him, running your fingers through his curly black hair. It had grown a lot since you first met him; it was long enough that you could actually pull on it. Your nails brushing against his scalp makes him hum with delight, you ran your fingers around some of the metallic numbs that partly stuck out of his head; you knew he felt pretty insecure about a lot of his mechanical parts. He appreciated you making him feel loved no matter how he looked or what his body was made of. His eyes were closed as he enjoyed you massaging his scalp, your warm breath tickling his skin, a beautiful smile on his face. You press a smiley kiss against his mouth. His hands run along the curve of your spine making you giggle, "Echo," you whispered kissing him, the smiling makes it hard to hold your lips together, opening your eyes to look at him seeing him looking at you. "Do you always watch me when I kiss you?" You laughed, watching a grin spread across his face.  "Sometimes, it's hard to take my eyes off of you." "Stop it," you joked, kissing him more passionately, this time he closed his eyes to enjoy the feeling. "I love you," he said as you pulled away, Tech's voice came on over the comm system saying they were getting ready to land.  "We should get going, lover boy." He takes your hand in his, opening the door walking back out to the rest of the crew, "Oh, I love you too," you said turning him around to kiss him one last time before both of you walked into the main area. "Getting in some action before our little mission," your friend jokes, making you and Echo get defensive and flustered.  "I'm just teasing you," they said, cutting you both off in your nonsensical babbling. "I hate you," you joked, hitting their arm. "Oh, well, I hate you too, that's why I came along on this mission," they teased back making you roll your eyes as you shook your head, trying to hide a grin.  "Also, since we need to steel uniforms from the Empire, shouldn't we take off ours?" They asked, looking at the armor everyone was wearing. "Well, take out whom we need and then bring them back here so we can switch," Hunter explained.  "I guess that makes sense," they said, tapping a finger against their chin as they thought it over. "We'll be landing on the outskirts, make sure you don't get spotted by any patrols," Tech said landing the ship, "Call me if there's anything you need, Echo should be able to handle any panels you encounter but in case there's one he can hack patch me through and I'll get it." "I'll do my best," Echo said with a weary smile. "You'll be fine, Echo," you say, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him, his smile growing as he looked at you.  "Crosshair, Wrecker, if we need an extraction, be ready, okay? We might not have much time to escape if something goes wrong," Hunter ordered as he walked to depart the ship. "Understood," they both say, wishing you guy's luck as the rest of you followed Hunter out of the ship, putting on your helmet and drawing your weapons as the four of you snuck through the forest area leading to the base. Avoiding the patrols you radio Tech to be careful, hoping they wouldn't notice the rather large ship between the thick line of trees. — Echo stuck by your side until Hunter ordered Echo to come with him and your bounty hunter friend to go with you, since you and your friend would be stealing uniforms from officers it was best that you go together. Meanwhile, Echo and Hunter got some Stormtrooper armor. Luckily it was easy to find some on their own, quickly taking them out and dragging them back to the ship where they awaiting your arrival. Sadly, things were going as smoothly for you and your friend. The only officers you spotted were hanging out in a group, no way of splitting them up that you could find. It took a while of waiting and a rather uncomfortable conversation between you and your friend, "So you dating that guy or what, I know we haven't talked in a while but I feel like that's some worthwhile news you could have sent me," they teased. "Oh shut it, we're not dating.... besides you could have contacted me at any point and never did."  "Geez, no need to get snippy, also you may not realize it, but he's totally got a thing for you, like the way he looked at you." "Yes, I noticed, why do you care." "Ohhh, so you've learned, good to know my teaching stuck with you. I care because you're both adorable and I enjoy teasing you," they replied putting a hand on your shoulder. "Sorry I'm just stressed with this mission and I'm not in a good mood, I don't mean to be snippy..."  "I know... so this Commander Cody used to be your friend... any idea why he joined the Empire?" "He didn't choose to join them, he's a clone, they don't give them much choice sadly..."  "Oh, I see... Well, he's lucky to have you as a friend, willing to get him out of there." "I don't know, I'm worried he won't come with us."  "Why?" "When I spoke to him last, he just wanted me to be safe and take care of the others, I'm just concerned he'll reject our offer so we don't get in trouble." "Well, if it comes to it, I'll happily knock the guy out and take him with us."  "What?! You can't just do that!" "Yes I can, just watch me," they teased, quietly giggling to themselves. "Ugh, if you do, he won't be happy."  "I honestly don't care I'm just here to help you and get him out of here no matter the means." "I won't let you knock him out, besides there are perfectly good Imperials all around us, have fun knocking them out but not Cody." "But this Cody guy is an Imperial dear..."  "I swear I can't win with you." "You did once, and that's why I'm here, and that's also why you're one of my only friends." "You call that winning," you snapped back being sarcastic.  "Ah, you're learning young Padawan," they said, showing their admiration for your quick comeback. "Now can we please deal with these guys, the others are waiting for us," you said pointing out two Imperial Officers who just spit off from the group. "Ready when you are, just lead the way," they said, sneaking to closer cover with you. After following them for a bit, they end up in just the perfect place for a quick takedown, knocking them out and dragging them quickly and quietly back to the ship.

"What took you guys so long?" Hunter teased, crossing his arms as he shook his head, Echo bashfully smiling behind him as he finished putting on the Stormtrooper armor. "Got these guys," your friend said, kicking the unconscious Imperials, "They kept hanging out with their little friends so we had to wait till they split off." "Now let's get these disguises on, I'd rather not be here longer than is necessary," you said, helping your friend remove the uniforms, tying up the Imperials before all of you set off. "This armor sucks, I can hardly see anything," Echo scoffed, trying to adjust the helmet. "Yeah, not the idea armor for my kind of fighting," Hunter said. "Ha, we got lucky these uniforms are pretty comfy," your friend boasted. "Just try not to act suspicious," you told them with a grin, earning a laugh from them. As they get to a locked door, the three of you keep watch while Echo works, seeing some Imperials walking straight for you guys everyone begins to panic. "Echo any time now," Hunter said.  "He's working on it," you scoffed while trying to keep an eye on those headed towards you.  "Even if he gets it, what do we do?" Your friend asked, positioning themselves to be ready for a fight. "Calm down, they haven't done anything yet, just wait," you say looking over at them. "Excuse us, we require your assistance," one of the Imperials says to you and your friend. Both of you look at each other confused, still using your bodies to hide Echo behind you. Luckily they hadn't noticed him yet and were instead focused on the two of you, awaiting your response. "Yes sir, how can we help you," your friend finally replied after looking at their badges. - "Come with us please, there's an error with one of the terminals and we haven't been able to fix it." "Why do you think we can fix it?" Your friend hissed, annoyed that they're bothering you with something a mechanic could easily fix. Suddenly you remember the scans Tech had gotten off the base. If they were talking about the terminal in the main building it would put you close the where Cody was. It would be risky to get to him going that way, hence why the lot of you were sneaking in from a less watched corner, but if they were willing to just let you walk in the front door, why not go? Jabbing your friend with your elbow, you apologize to the Imperials for their behavior, "What terminal requires fixing, and what's wrong with it? I have some experience with those things and can take a crack at it." They look at each other, almost like they were nervous or ashamed, "It's the main terminal, don't tell anyone, but we spilled some caf on it and not it won't start back up." "If you tell anyone you'll regret it, got it!?" The other one said sternly, staring the both of you down, still somehow not noticing Echo who was kneeled down on the ground. - Your friend snickers some before you jab them with your elbow again, glaring at them like your eyes could kill. "We'd be happy to help, and I promise we won't tell anyone," you say saluting them. Turning in their heels, they motioned for you to follow them, talking to each other as you and your friend stayed silent, looking back at Echo and Hunter who were now on their own. "What do we do now?" Echo asked, knowing without the both of you they had no business being in this building and would easily get spotted. "We'll have to just try to get through, you're an arc trooper after all, as long as we can at least find his location we could contact them," Hunter says, looking down at Echo as he finally got the door unlocked. Standing up he realizes something, the Imperials said the main terminal, that was closer to Cody's office, "Hunter, the terminal they're going to is close to Cody's office, if one of them can slip away they could bring him out this way as long as we keep a lookout." "Echo, that's a good idea, now just to figure out how to get one of them out of there."  "We could fake it, I know Cody I could easily comm them and order them to his office." Patting Echo on the shoulder for his quick thinking and excellent plan, he agrees. Both of them sneak inside, hiding at the end of one of the halls behind some crates. - After a little meddling Echo finds out how to contact you guys, but instead of calling you your friend is the one who received the call instead. At first, they tried to ignore the beeping and blinking coming from their wrist. The two Imperials quickly look over to both of you, "Aren't you going to answer that?" One of them asked them. "Uh yeah, excuse me a moment." Damn them, they left you here with these two watching over you, making sure you actually were fixing it. Walking out into the hall but still within ear range of the snooping Imperials, your friend answered the call. 

"Hello? Who is this?" They asked. "This is Commander Cody, I require you in my office now to discuss some information."  "Oh um sir, I'm currently assisting someone with repairs, could it ---" "I said now, get a mechanic to fix the problems unless you've suddenly become one." Good thing the terminal obstructed your face, you could tell it wasn't Cody, assuming it was Echo impersonating him made it hard for you not to laugh. The two Imperials quickly walk out to your friend, with terrified expressions they told them to go, that you could handle the repairs, and it was wise not to upset the commander. "I'll be right there, sir," your friend said before turning off the comm device. "Yeah, best not upset the commander or keep him waiting. Go," one of the men said, almost pushing your friend down the hall. Setting a quick pace, they walk through the halls. They didn't know Cody or Echo well enough to know it wasn't actually Cody. Knocking on the door yields no response from inside, "Kriff, where is he?! This is his office...man, I better not be at the wrong place," they say studying the area, confirming that they were in fact in the right place. "This is my office, are you looking for something?" Cody said, startling your friend.  "Blast, did you have to scare me like that?? Oh, um, Commander Sir!" They said, quickly saluting. "What do you want, and who are you? I've never seen you on this base before," he replied. "I'm Y/N's friend, I'm here with a rescue team to get you out!"  "I already told her I won't be going, there's no reason for everyone to put their life at risk for mine." He coldly replied, unlocking his office and walking inside. Following him your friend continues to try to talk sense into him, "Look, I don't know you, but Y/N is my friend and I would do anything for her especially since I owe her for saving my life. So can you give me a break and just come with me, there's a ship waiting for you not too far from here." "I'm not going and nothing you say will change my mind, Y/N was - is my friend and I won't needlessly put her life at risk," Cody said in an angry tone crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back in his chair. "Well then, I guess you give me no choice..." They said huffing. "What do you --" before he gets a chance to finish they pull out the hidden blaster and stun him, "You better not be heavy," they grumbled, walking over to drag his body with them. "Echo, Hunter, come in I completed my task," they said over the comlink.  "Oh, good work, is Y/N with you, we're covering the hallway here by the exit but not sure how long we can keep this up," Hunter replied. "No, she's still off helping those knuckleheads. Maybe try to contact her, pretend to be the Commander and order her over here, I could use help to drag him out of here." "Wait WHAT — what did you do??" They heard Echo shout. "Please tell me you only stunned him..." Hunter added. "Of course, what did you think I did, I might be a bounty hunter but I'm not going to shoot this guy."  "I mean, technically you did shoot him," Echo said sarcastically. "Listen here you, I just stunned him, he'll be waking up in a bit so get Y/N over here to help me."  "Copy that," the comm cut out. It had been a few minutes, and still no response, and you were nowhere in sight. Assuming their attempt didn't work, your friend tried getting Cody out of there on their own. Damit he was heavy, good thing they were strong enough to still lift him, draping his arm over their shoulder and grabbing his waist. It took a while, but slowly they got down the hallway, having to duck into cover a few times to avoid the patrols and random Imperials walking about. Luckily, the exit wasn’t far away.

[mermaid-with-ms]

How I saved thousands on my Long Island Dream Wedding

Weddings cost a small fortune, especially on Long Island. I have been planning my wedding for as long as I can remember, and “pinning” long before I was even engaged.  A wedding is one amazing night of your life, but you have the future to plan for as well.  We wanted to have our dream wedding but do it at a cost that was more comfortable for us.  Do you want to know how I managed to SAVE MORE THAN $20,000 dollars? 

1. Reception Venue (Saved $8,000+)  The most popular months for a wedding on Long Island are May-October. Venues adjust their prices according to the busy seasons.  I knew that I did not want a summer wedding, because the heat can be unbearable for me with my MS.   There were a few venues that I already knew had fair prices, so I made appointments there.  The other venues, I messaged ahead of time to ask for a general price per person.  If it was out of my price range, I didn’t bother to look.  I would hate to fall in love with something that I couldn’t afford.  Another thing I learned was to watch out for the “plus plus”.  (For those who don’t know... “plus plus” means Price per person PLUS 20% “administrative fee” PLUS sales tax.  So, if a venue says that their price per person is $100 plus plus, you are really looking at close to $130 per person).  

A Friday night is much less expensive than a Saturday night, so we chose to book a Friday.  Most of our friends and family will have off for a weekend before having to go back to work, so we thought this worked out nicely.  We fell in love with a venue on the water, Chateau La Mer.  I first met with a coordinator from the venue at an expo.  Being an “expo bride”, I was given some bonus items: Extra tier on wedding cake, Chocolate Fountain, Ice Cream Bar, and Zeppole Station ($1,000+ savings).

We loved the idea of getting married outside on the water, but we loved the idea of saving as much money as possible for our future even more. Brandon’s grandparents had some health issues, and we wanted to get married sooner rather than later.

We chose Friday, March 3, 2017.   This night cost us $40 less per person than a wedding at our venue during peak season. With a guest list of 125, this saved us a total of $5,000.  

The venue we chose was on the lower end of cost compared to other Long Island venues.  I can’t really come up with an exact number for savings here, but I would say I saved at least $2,500 by choosing the venue that I did compared to the average venue cost per person.  

2.  Venue “Extras” (Saved $1,000+)

Ask your venue what kind of on site “extras” that they have.  AND THEN GET THEM TO THROW THEM IN BEFORE YOU BOOK.  My venue included the use of up lighting (this truly makes a difference on the look of your reception space), virtual dance floor, and use of television screens.   The venue has a price sheet where these items add up to $1,000.   Sometimes venues do not have up lighting or televisions available.  Outside vendors could charge over $1,000 for the lighting alone.  

Luckily, my venue had these items on site and included them for me.  I made sure that they put these extras on my contract as included.  

I also got charger plates included.  I don’t think that most venues do this but it’s worth asking before you spend $2+ per plate. 

Make sure you get everything in writing!

3. Photography & Videography (Saved $2,500+)

Hiring a private photographer & videographer can save you a lot of money because there is no one in the middle. I looked into so many photography and videography packages from various companies and the prices truly vary.  Based on the average that I was seeing for a photography and videography package from a larger company, I saved $2,500+ by using a private photographer and videographer.  I had complete confidence in the product that I would receive from these ROCKSTARS. A lot of their business comes from word of mouth and recommendations, so they will do their best every time. 

We are so happy with the result.  The day of the wedding was a breeze thanks to the amazing team we hired.  I have to give them a shout out here because they are so unbelievably talented.  My photographer was Kaitlin Cremmins and my video team was Koleda Productions.  They are true artists and I would recommend them to anyone.  They put so much effort into making everything perfect and captured exactly what we wanted.  

Photo and video were so important to us!  I know that we will be watching our wedding video constantly and reliving the night as much as we can.  

4. DIY Centerpieces ($900+ Savings) 

I might be the minority here, but flowers were not important to us.  I couldn’t fathom spending thousands on something that would die the following day.  We chose not to use real flowers in our centerpieces.  Using Pinterest and with a lot of help from our family and bridal party, we made our own centerpieces and I thought that they turned out perfect!  I’m unsure of the exact savings here, because I never priced out real flowers.  I believe on average, a floral centerpiece is at least $100, probably higher... sometimes lower.  I will use $100 for a base.  We had 13 guest tables which would cost $1,300+ from a florist.  Instead, I spend about $25 on each centerpiece.  I am a huge Disney fan, and I wanted a simple carriage for the centerpiece.  We purchased the carriages in bulk online in white and sprayed them gold.  We bought a large pack of candle holders, some “real” looking fake tea lights for the center, some fake flowers from Michaels (with a coupon.. of course) and glued the flowers to a burlap ribbon around each candle holder.  Real tea lights aren’t expensive, so we purchased enough to form a circle around each carriage.  After the wedding, I was able to give them to family and friends and I have one on my coffee table.

5. Bridal Party Bouquets ($200+ Savings)

For my bridesmaids, I wanted something simple for the girls that would still look classy and beautiful.  Either a babys breath or a simple white rose bouquet.  Even something like this was getting quoted for $30 or more each from a florist.  I had 10 girls, so this was adding up to about $300 from a florist.  I decided to try our local grocery store, Stop & Shop, to get a quote.  My husband used to work there and always brought me home the most beautiful bouquets.  I was able to get all 10 bouquets for a total of $80!  I only needed to purchase my own ribbon and bring it in, since I wanted something specific.  I think that the flowers looked amazing and I am so happy with the results.  

6. My Bridal Bouquet ($100 Savings) 

I was watching Shark Tank and learned about a company called Ecoflower.  The flowers are all made from recycled and sustainable materials.  The bouquets are completely custom.  I was able to pick the colors, what I wanted the stems to look like, what I wanted to base to be wrapped with.  You can even choose a scent!  I took a leap of faith and designed my bouquet online.  Not long after, I received the most beautiful bouquet in the mail that smelled like fresh roses.  The best part?  I can keep it forever.  The average bridal bouquet that I was getting quotes for was somewhere between $150 and $200.  My Ecoflower bouquet cost only $75 shipped.  

7. DIY Photo Booth ($1,000 Savings) 

The photo booth at my wedding was one of my favorite parts.  Photo booth rentals cost anywhere from $500 to $1,500.  I knew I wanted one, but couldn’t really find a spot in our budget for it.  Luckily, my boss’s dad (91 years old by the way!) is very handy.  I showed him a picture that I found online.  It was basically one large center panel, 4x8, and two side panels (2x8 each), held on with hinges.  He built it, and then my bridesmaid and I painted it.  I am so proud of how it turned out.  We used a chalkboard paint and chalk paint pens and painted quotes that we love.  I purchased props from the dollar store and on clearance after New Years Eve.  I put out a selfie stick and I think that our guests had a lot of fun with it! 

8.  Invitations 

Invitations are another thing that I didn’t want to spend a lot on. I was able to get a design from Miss Design Berry on Etsy.  I loved our invitations because they were so fun and non-traditional.  We printed them on Vistaprint during a 60% off sale.  My suggestion to anyone would be to get a design that you love, and print yourself.  I don’t even know how much we saved by doing this, because I know that the prices of invitations can range a lot.  My total cost for invitations was about $125.

(Come on... how freaking cute were these!) 

9. Honeymoon Travel Agent ($700 Savings) 

If you can’t tell, Disney is my thing.  I always book my trips through a travel agent because it doesn’t cost any extra to use them.  Their commissions come directly from the place you are traveling to.  I think that this is a fact that is unknown to many people.  When planning a Disney vacation, I have always and will always use a travel agency.  I used Kristin from Magic Carpet Destinations.  She specializes in Disney, but she can help plan any trip.  What’s really great about using a travel agent, is that whenever a new deal or discount comes out, they will help reflect that onto your trip.  I know that I don’t feel like sitting on hold with Disney reservations for 4+ hours trying to amend a reservation.... Kristin took care of this for us.  Kristin helped us save over $700 on our dream Disneymoon!  Other benefits of using a travel agent, especially for a Disney vacation, is that she will help you book your dining, fast passes, and more.  We had an issue with one of our dining reservations and she was on the phone right away to fix it.  Visit her website and reach out to her if you need help planning your vacation or honeymoon.  

10.  Wedding Rings ($1,800 Savings) 

His Band:   For Brandon’s band we used JVL Jewelry.  I was able to find a coupon code online for a FREE wedding band (Originally $300).  At first I thought, could this be real?  Well... it was.  We love his tungsten wedding band and I know that it has a lifetime warranty.  We only needed to pay $25 for shipping & handling.  Take it from me, this deal was not “too good to be true”. 

My Band:  My engagement ring is from Kohls, Simply Vera by Vera Wang.  I get so many compliments on it!  While I’m not sure what exactly Brandon spent, I do know that he took a page from my book and used coupons, went when there was a sale, and got lots of Kohls cash back.  I wanted to get a wedding band that complimented my beautiful engagement ring.  I went on Black Friday, where I was able to get 70% off plus $15 for every $50 spent.  When all was said and done, I saved $1,500 on my wedding band AND I got lots of Kohls cash back... which we used to buy some of the pieces for Brandon’s wedding attire.  

(HIDDEN MICKEY... Thank you Katie!) 

11.  Transportation (Saved $1,550+) 

We had a large bridal party: 10 Bridesmaids + 11 Groomsmen.  I needed to find transportation for everyone from the ceremony venue to the reception venue, and back to the hotel afterwards.  For the amount of people that we had, we needed a party bus or a large vehicle that could accommodate everyone.  The average quote that I received was $1,000 each way.  I couldn’t get myself to spend that much on a 20 minute ride.  Through recommendations, I found a shuttle service on Long Island called Cardinal Car Service.  We were able to transport everyone there and back for a total of $450.  Awesome customer service, a clean vehicle, and enough space for all of our friends.  We were even able to fit the “plus ones” on the ride back to the hotel with us.  The bus was not fancy.. didn’t have any crazy lights or features, but when you have the best bridal party in the world starting our own bus ride sing-a-longs... it was absolutely perfect. 

12.  Our Band ($3,000 Savings) 

Honestly... no matter what they charged... I was booking Peat Moss & The Fertilizers as my wedding band.  This was quite possibly the best decision I ever made (okay... besides marrying my best friend).  I always loved watching these guys perform at local bars and they have been booking more and more weddings.  We knew that we had to have them perform... no matter what the cost.  A Friday in March is probably a less busy time for them... so I’m not sure if their rates vary.  But the rate that I got was still thousands LESS than other Long Island wedding bands.  The dance floor was never empty.  We had the best time of our lives and I know that all of our guests had a blast.  This band is so talented and the guys are so nice.  

*A DJ will probably cost less than a band, if you are looking for the least expensive option.  But for us, this was something we really wanted. 

13.  Decorations & DIY Projects  (Savings - Hundreds!) 

I don’t have a total here... but I know we saved hundreds by doing things ourselves and waiting for SALES!  I am a deal chaser.  A lot of my decorations were on clearance after Christmas, New Years, and Valentines Day.  

Our Card Box:  I purchased a blank, white card box on Amazon for $16.  Brandon’s aunts transformed it using all kinds of materials from Michaels.  This would’ve cost us so much more if we purchased something like this.  Best part about it is - it’s custom and made with love.  

My “must have” Enchanted Rose from Beauty & The Beast:

I bought all of the materials for this on clearance.  We kept it on our table and I’m happy that I can keep it as another memory from our big day. 

Our Cinderella’s Carriage Decoration

This piece was gorgeous.  It was a indoor/outdoor Christmas decoration from Home Depot.   Originally $140.  And it was huge!  We placed it in the entry way into the reception so it was one of the first things that our guests saw when they entered the ballroom.  I knew I had to have it... so I waited until December 26th, when all of the Christmas decorations went on clearance.  Saved 50% on this beauty & I had a gift card.  

Savings on my Bridal Accessories: I saved money on my veil & headpiece because I simply asked for a discount.  My dress and all alterations were from the same place, and some of my bridesmaids ordered their dresses from this store as well.  I explained this to the salesperson and asked if there was any discount available since were were purchasing so many items.  They agreed to take 25% off of my veil and headpiece.  

I found some glass-slipper-esque Michael Kors shoes from Macy’s.  I saved $40 on these by waiting for a sale.  

(Sparkles are important) 

14.  Savings For Our Bridal Party 

We tried to save our bridal party as much as possible.  We know how expensive it is to be in a wedding, and we were so grateful for all of the amazing friends that we have.   For our groomsmen, we chose to have them purchase separate pieces in lieu of renting a tuxedo.  Renting costs hundreds of dollars, and the outfit needs to be returned the following day.  We had them purchase shoes, pants, and shirts through Kohls.  I tried to set them up with sales whenever they came along. They got their vests from Mens Warehouse.  We waited until they had their “Buy One, Get One Free”  sale.  This cut the cost of each vest in half.  I believe that overall, the outfits cost around $175.  BUT they get to KEEP their entire outfit so I think that it worked out really well.  AND they looked so handsome. 

For my girls, I wanted them to pick their own dresses.  My colors were “Blush & Champagne”.  This was a little risky, because I wasn’t super sure if the dresses would go together. But they were absolutely stunning.  Every girl had a different body type and different budget.  Some girls were able to get their dresses for $69.  Others spent more.  I just wanted them to be comfortable financially and feel great in the dress that they chose. 

Pieces of Advice:

NEGOTIATE.  I was almost always able to discuss a price with all of my vendors that I was comfortable with.

DO YOUR RESEARCH.  Know what other venues and vendors are charging.  

UTILIZE SOCIAL MEDIA.  I was very fortunate to be a member of a fantastic Facebook group called “Long Island Brides & Beyond”.  It’s a group of hundreds of women who live on Long Island, asking each other questions and giving each other wedding related advice.  Any time that I had a question or needed a referral, I reached out to these women without hesitation.   Social Media and wedding sites are great ways to find vendors that are within your price range and you can read reviews from other brides.

SPEND THE MONEY ON THE THINGS THAT ARE IMPORTANT TO YOU.  I can’t stress this enough.  For us, a fancy car or flowers were not important.  But if they are to you, find something else that might not be so important and cut there instead.  For us, Music, Food, & Photo/Video were the most important aspects.  

TRY TO REMEMBER that this is only ONE DAY of your life.  What will you remember about this day?  What will your guests remember?  “Oh wow did you see those charger plates!?!” ...  I don’t think so.  

YOU WILL HAVE EXPENSES YOU NEVER THOUGHT OF.  You will never be prepared for this no matter how hard you try.

OKAY so we SAVED more than $20,000 and still had the best night of our lives. Granted, we still spent more than I will ever accept.  There is no way to avoid it.  I know that some of the things that I discussed might not work for you, and that’s okay. I know that some people must get married on a busy day or peak time of year due to their jobs or other factors.  I know that some of the things that weren’t important to us might be important to other people. 

I would not change one thing about our wedding.   

Remember to just enjoy it.  The months leading up to my wedding were extremely stressful.  I had a full on break down over the seating chart.  Now that it’s all over, I can breathe.  It all goes by so fast so make sure that on the day of your wedding you just sit back and appreciate all of your hard work.  You deserve a drink from that open bar.  You deserve to dance so much that your feet hurt for a week after.    

Happy planning!  

[wwbnews]

The sound of justice The original records of Nazi atrocities are at risk of being lost — but it’s not too late to save them By November 21st, 1945, Adolf Hitler was dead, but the Nazi chain of command he left behind was sitting in court. In the ruins of the German city of Nuremberg, inside the Palace of Justice, Room 600, they faced charges of conspiracy, waging aggressive war, war crimes, and crimes against humanity. Behind the Nazis stood a line of American military police in gleaming white helmets. The Nazi defendants picked up translation headphones from the armrests beside them and placed them on their heads. In the center of the courtroom, Robert Jackson, an American, walked up to a lectern and placed his opening prosecution statement in front of him. Jackson had skipped college and spent only a year at law school, but he nonetheless went on to become an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court. Now, he was chief prosecutor in the world’s fragile first experiment in international justice, which was made possible, in part, by an unprecedented audio system. Every tale of atrocity, every victim’s raw testimony, and every revelation that exposed the upside-down logic of the Nazi system flowed through the headphones of a man along the wood-paneled wall of the courtroom. He rested his fingers lightly on a volume dial, as audio from the trial was filtered through a dozen language interpreters. His name was Philip C. Erhorn, and as the chief technician at Nuremberg, he cobbled together a sound system that relayed and recorded the voices in the courtroom. He did it mostly on his own, despite the team of technicians that was assembled to help him. “They didn’t know what end of the screwdriver to use,” he later told his wife. no one had attempted to record the audio for such a complicated court case Erhorn was an audio specialist hired by the US Army Signal Corps who grew up fascinated with hand-crank radios. When he went to Lehigh University, he got special access to a room of music records, which touched off a lifelong obsession for recording things. Sometimes when he babysat his neighbor’s kids, he raided their tape collection for even more music to record. As Erhorn listened on the first day, a judge pushed himself toward a microphone on the bench and beckoned Jackson to begin the prosecution’s opening statement. Someone coughed, then there was silence. “The privilege of opening the first trial in history for crimes against the peace of the world poses a grave responsibility,” Jackson said into his microphone on the lectern. Erhorn sat in his green officer’s uniform, intensely focused, listening, as the microphone sent the sound through his mixer and into a maze of wires and recorders. What followed was what some consider to be one of the most important speeches of all time. It entered Erhorn’s audio system, to be saved forever. General Rudenko from Russia made the final prosecutor’s statement after the British and French took their turns. Interpreters translated on the spot. The system fed the translation audio into a now-antique recorder called a recordgraph, which looks more like an old movie projector than an audio device. Meanwhile, the prosecutor, witnesses, and defendants were recorded in whichever language they spoke, verbatim. The words of their native tongues were relayed to a hi-fidelity gramophone recorder, and a stylus etched the sound waves into the surface of circular black disc records. The grooves the stylus traced contained the voices of the Nuremberg trials. The plan had always been to preserve these moments so that the crimes of the defendants would never be repeated. But in the years ahead, the record collection fell through the cracks. In 1945, no one had attempted to record the audio for such a complicated court case, nor had anyone tried to translate a multilingual meeting in real time. For centuries, Western diplomacy was conducted solely in French. Nuremberg, however, required English, German, Russian, and French to be translated simultaneously. To keep things simple, anyone listening in the courtroom needed to be able to find their native language simply by flipping between four channels. The end product, a simple audio record of each speaker, took an extraordinarily coordinated effort to produce. Photo: Keystone / Hulton Archive / Getty Images Erhorn and his fellow technicians bought a new IBM machine called “the Translator,” which was shipped by plane from New York to Nuremberg. It was based on an experimental system that had been used in a court case in South America. When the Translator arrived in Nuremberg, the technicians had to wire the court. The whole production started at the point where the human voice went into the system: the microphone. The eight judges had four microphones to share, the prosecution had one, the witness stand had a microphone, another sat at the front of the courtroom, and then there was a “roving microphone” for the Nazis to pass around their court dock. The sound traveled from the microphones to Erhorn’s amplifier, which he carefully monitored for the translators. There were four teams of translators separated by glass partitions who were deeply focused, listening to every word. Each team had three to four interpreters specializing in a single language. They could take Russian, for example, and translate it accurately into English, French, and German immediately. When anyone spoke into the microphones too quickly and the court got too far ahead of the translations, the interpreters raised a yellow card in distress, signaling “slower.” If the translators were totally overwhelmed, they raised a pleading red card, signaling “stop.” A red card meant the entire trial, no matter the gravity of the moment, came to a halt. A complete backup team of translators waited on standby, should a rescue be needed. The entire system used at least 500 headphones, half used by the technicians, and the other 250 for listeners in court. In a two-month scramble, Erhorn and his team of technicians invented the translation system the United Nations still uses to this day. In the weeks before Erhorn assembled the system, he and his colleagues heard classical music echoing through the rubble nearby Nuremberg. They followed the sound and could soon discern that it was Wagner. When they found the source, it was a tape player, which Erhorn had not seen before, possibly because it was developed by the Americans for “clandestine telephone tapping purposes” during the war. Immediately, Erhorn decided to use the technology in the trial to record the translators. The interpreters’ voices were recorded onto embossed tape for the stenographers to match their court transcripts against and argue over the quality of the translation. Embossed tape, a clear-colored film also known as Amertape (as in “America”), was a precursor to 1980s-style magnetic cassette tape. Soundwaves of a recording were carved directly into the Amertape with a needle. One Amertape collector said his tapes from the D-Day invasion in 1944 are still playable, but it’s unclear how gracefully the Nuremberg translation Amertapes aged. “It can decompose into a nasty jelly,” one expert says. Some archives preferred to transfer embossed Amertape recordings onto magnetic tape, which has its own problems: it degrades after 30 years. Today, these tapes are likely irretrievably expired, and their location is unknown. Then there was the verbatim audio, which skipped the translation phase and went off in a wire outside the courtroom to a studio. There, the original voices were recorded onto black disc gramophone records with a cellulose trinitrate lacquer surface and aluminum core made by the Presto Recording Corporation. Nitrate-based films and lacquers also have problems: they’re flammable. Luckily, the aluminum core of the gramophone record “acts as a heat sink if the record catches fire,” one archiving expert says. But if the nitrate lacquer has deteriorated into a reddish powder, “tiptoe away and call the bomb disposal squad.” The longer the records sat, forgotten in The Hague, the less likely they could be preserved When the trial ended and Hermann Göring and several other Nazis were sentenced to hang to death, 1,942 Presto gramophone discs with at least 775 hours of the trial recorded on them were packed into wooden crates. What exactly happened to these crates is subject to debate. They may have become an overlooked line item in an archive in The Hague, Netherlands, or they may have been forgotten. The International Court of Justice, which is located in The Hague, says the collection was part of the Nuremberg archive and is so physically large that they would be impossible to lose track of. But the cellulose trinitrate lacquer on the Presto records put them at risk. The lacquer can shrink over time and crack, destroying the record. The longer the records sat, forgotten in The Hague, the less likely it became that Erhorn and his team’s recordings could be preserved. In Switzerland, there is a city of red roofs built along stone cliffs and woods where the Schiffenensee River runs. It’s an old city called Fribourg, and it’s where Ottar Johnsen, a silver-haired Swiss professor of signal processing lived and worked for most of his career. He specialized in the electronic transfer of images and audio technology. In the event that the Nuremberg records were remembered and pulled out of their archive, the trajectory of his research could save them from deterioration. Johnsen is imaginative and willing to try any idea. His Swiss-French accent curls Rs in his throat when he speaks his very fluent English. As he likes to jest, “I perfected it in New Jersey.” Johnsen’s career really took off when he joined the Bell Laboratories research complex in rural New Jersey. The place was a centrifuge of scientific innovation. It pulled from various fields and theories to invent things like transistors, lasers, the Unix computer operating system, and programming languages like C, C++, and S. At Bell Laboratories in the 1980s, Johnsen discovered new ways to compress images so they could quickly be sent electronically. Soon after, he returned to Switzerland to work at the University of Fribourg, which was when, in the twilight of his career, a colleague from the Swiss National Sound Archives approached him with “a completely strange idea.” Photo: Central Press / Getty Images The colleague was Stefano Cavaglieri. The premise of Cavaglieri’s idea was that when you look at a vinyl record, the sound is etched into the physical surface of the grooves. Cavaglieri wondered, why not photograph the physical surface and try to extract the sound from the image? “It will never work,” Johnsen thought, “but it is a very interesting project to do with a student.” Johnsen found an enthusiastic PhD student named Sylvain Stotzer who wanted to research the idea. In only a few months, they had already extracted their first sounds from a picture of a record. It sounded bad. “Then, we discovered we needed to reverse it,” Johnsen says. The sound they extracted was backward, but it worked. After it was fixed, Johnsen and Stotzer knew they had something. They called the technology Visual Audio. Right away, archivists pointed out that the technology could make crucial rescues. Records that were too delicate or damaged to be read with a conventional record player needle could have their sound extracted visually. Then, serendipity. “In 2006, I got a call from Radio Netherlands [Worldwide],” Johnsen says. The radio producer had talked to a librarian at the International Court of Justice, and they had found the Nuremberg recordings. “They had, in a way, been forgotten, not lost, but forgotten somewhere in the archive,” Johnsen says. “So I was astonished when I heard about it.” Employees of the International Court of Justice arranged to meet Johnsen at the University of Fribourg to do a test run on the records using his Visual Audio process. They had no idea if the recordings were any good. The discs were forgotten, but miraculously well-preserved They met Johnsen with a box. He pulled a disc from one of its waxy paper sleeves and inspected it, finding them “forgotten but very well-preserved.” Johnsen and Stotzer began the process. First, they took film pictures in a dark room. Inside the dark room, they developed the negative of the first photo of the first record. Then, they took the negative and placed it inside a specially-designed high-resolution scanner. As the scanner prepared to take an image, it spun the negative like a top. They put the image on a computer and used an algorithm that Stotzer had written to read the sound in the picture. “The sound is contained in the depth of the groove or the position of the groove. At the microscopic level, you can see how the groove is moving,” Johnsen explains. The sound output “will look like a sine wave.” The wobbly undulations in the surface were captured in Johnsen’s pictures of the disc. The priceless record was untouched. It worked. He listened to Erhorn’s recording of Chief Prosecutor Jackson delivering his opening statement on the first day of the trials. “It was very, very clear,” Johnsen says. Compared to the transcripts of the trial, there was something different in hearing it, the momentousness of the moment imbued Jackson’s voice. “It was important for him to get the message out about the bad things they did. It was as important as the procedure of judging the criminals,” Johnsen says. He could hear both, and he couldn’t wait to digitize the entire collection. Photo by Fred Ramage / Getty Images But things did not go as expected. Johnsen did a sample Visual Audio extract of 10 records and gave the International Court of Justice an estimate of $190,000 to digitize the entire collection. The archives found it difficult to cut a check to Johnsen if he didn’t have a company assembled to do the work. There are very strict procurement procedures. They went back and forth over the course of hundreds of emails. Johnsen started to get nervous. Things went quiet. For years, he heard nothing. He retired from his university before any final word came in. When he left, he gathered all of the samples of the Nuremberg recordings that he made and brought them home for safekeeping. “So many things disappear when people retire,” he says. He even made up his mind that he would come out of retirement to digitize the recordings if it was necessary. Johnsen continued to worry about it. Cost is a constant problem among international organizations. The public tends to imagine institutions like the United Nations as incredibly wealthy and far-reaching. But some run on a relative shoestring budget. Take the International Criminal Court, for example. In 2013, the prosecutor’s office that was tasked with hunting down war criminals anywhere in the world and building credible cases against them ran on about $150 million. It may sound generous, but it’s roughly equivalent to the combined budget of the District Attorney’s office in New York City and Washington, DC. We have the technology to preserve the records, but not the budget No action was taken on Johnsen’s offer. Back when Johnsen inspected the records for the first time, he had suggested they test a recording needle on the first few seconds of quiet at the beginning of each record when it’s only people walking into the courtroom and shuffling chairs. Those moments weren’t as important, and they could be played to test the discs’ durability under a record needle, even if they got damaged. That was good advice, it seems. In 2017, the archives at the International Court of Justice decided to use a company in France that uses a record needle to play the records and digitize them. Johnsen thinks it should work. But as Johnsen points out, “It’s like painting a wall: some of the paint comes off with the brush.” The needle will work, but it also might damage the records. “When there are more than a thousand records, maybe a few of them would be damaged or difficult to play again,” Johnsen says. If that’s the case, Johnsen’s technology is always available to perform a rescue. The International Court of Justice hopes to have the records digitized in 2019, but they may not be made available to the public yet. Employees of the International Court of Justice describe the institution as “a very deliberate organization.” One of the reporters in Nuremberg covering the trials for the Stars and Stripes military daily was Norbert Ehrenfreund. He was deeply affected by what he saw. Years later, he became a federal judge in California and wrote a book about Nuremberg. In it he wrote, “Soon all of the survivors of the Holocaust will be gone. Then there will be no human voice to tell the authentic story of the genocide, the tortures, the gas chambers, the concentration camps.” With what seems to be relief, he also wrote: “But the authentic, official record is the trial transcript.” It appears he, like many others, sees the transcript of the trials and the voices of the victims as two separate documents that cannot be merged. This is the power of Nuremberg recordings: it’s both. Erhorn and Johnsen saw the power of the sound and resolved to preserve it for future generations. “When you have the sound, you feel you are in the middle of it,” Johnsen says, his voice conjuring a world suddenly accessible to the imagination. Then, his tone hardens. “When you have just the transcript, you are outside it.” #Newsytechno.com #Latest_Technology_Trends #Cool_Gadgets

[news-mashable-yahoopartner-blog]

The best memes of 2018 so far

If you feel like you see bad news every time you log onto social media, you're not alone. Going on Twitter can be an overwhelming experience, with constant arguments, drama, and snitch tagging.

Memes are the only thing holding the internet together at this point. 

It's been a stressful year so far, but at least we have these memes! Let's take a walk down memory lane — meme-ory lane, if you will.

1. Eating Tide Pods

Vincent van Gogh used to eat Tide pods because he wanted happiness inside him

— lusty goth (@elkalumpy) December 27, 2017

The Tide Pod eating craze technically started in December 2017, but its effects lasted well into the new year, concerning parents nationwide. The forbidden snacks will always have a place in our hearts for the countless memes and cursed foods it inspired. 

2. What your child is really texting about

Is your child texting about @olivegarden? Here’s a quick guide to find out: OG: Olive Garden LMAO: love me an olive LOL: lots of lasagna ROFL: ravioli or flavorful linguine BRB: breadsticks rock, bro WTF: where’s the fettuccine STFU: some tiramisu for us

— jillian dradzynski (@jillianallyce) January 22, 2018

Concerned parents could breathe a sigh of relief as Tide Pod obsessions died down, but it seems like texting lingo will always be a mystery to the Olds. Luckily, a handy guide to common acronyms became a meme. What are your kids texting about? Probably Olive Garden.

3. Change my mind

pic.twitter.com/GgrxCUolVt

— Prodigy (@CSN_Prodigy) February 21, 2018

Sometimes you look at a meme and realize there really is hope for humanity. When a conservative podcaster/professional troll set up a table encouraging people to change his mind about "male privilege," the internet got to work and turned him into a meme. It became a platform to share your diciest opinions, from pineapple on pizza to the plot of Bee Movie.

4. Wholesome memes 

People have a knack for finding the good in anything, and as dark as 2018 seemed, the flood of wholesome memes gave us hope. While wholesome memes have been around for a bit, 2018 is their year to shine.

5. Gru's plan

If you have a brilliant, well-thought-out plan that ended up going wrong, Gru's plan is the meme for you. The four panel image conveys so much optimism and disappointment in one revelation, perfectly capturing what it feels like when stealing the moon doesn't go your way.

6. American Chopper hot takes

pic.twitter.com/4mb1m3lOHI

— Garf Gab (@GarfieldFanArt) March 22, 2018

American Chopper came back for a revival this year, prompting the internet to bring back an iconic scene from the original show. The destructive father-son duo became a meme for the hottest, spiciest takes. 

7. Build your perfect man

ladies you have $5 to build the perfect man $300 - tall $200 - smart $400 - rich $150- famous $2 - name is Paul $3 -is a mall cop $500 - attractive

— Lazy dog (@LaziestCanine) April 25, 2018

Does the perfect man exist? This meme encourages people to build their ideal partner. There's just one catch — you have limited funds and the characteristics you can afford are pricey. Guess you'll just have to settle for Paul Blart, mall cop. 

8. Who killed Hannibal?

This is a damn good contender for best meme of the year - all of the variations are good...but this one is the best pic.twitter.com/SwpOUAuRjk

— RickyFTW (@rickyftw) April 18, 2018

The "Who killed Hannibal?" meme is great for situations when you've done something shitty and need to shift the blame to someone else. Like Eric Andre in The Eric Andre Show, some people just refuse to take accountability.

9. Walmart yodel boy 

11-year-old Mason Ramsey went viral for yodeling in Walmart, and instantly stole America's heart. He performed at Coachella, landed a record deal, and released a single about being in adorable tween love. Walmart yodel boy slaps. 

10. Is this a pigeon?

pic.twitter.com/k90ssimgos

— Cat Graffam (@catgraffam) May 4, 2018

Although this image has been around since 2011, the meme blew up this year to convey absolute confusion. The meme originated from an anime, where a character points to a butterfly and asks, "Is this a pigeon?"

11. Ladies, imagine your best life

Ladies, imagine this. It’s 15 years from now, and you have no kids. You’re the cool wine aunt that occasionally comes back to the country for a brief visit before leaving for another long, exotic vacation. You have no commitments, and a suspicious amount of money.

— Em Treasure (@emtreas) May 22, 2018

A viral Twitter movement subverted a romanticized version of suburban life by asking ladies about their most ideal, most bizarre life. The meme covers it all, from (again) the plot of Bee Movie to imagining marriage with Stuart Little. 

12. Yanny or Laurel?

It's The Dress of 2018. The audio illusion tore apart the internet, with friends and neighbors turning against each other over whether a recording said "Yanny" or "Laurel." It was fun until the Trump administration hopped on and killed the meme forever. RIP.

13. Sad cowboy

they always say yeehaw but never ask haw yee pic.twitter.com/Zcqy3y1sbc

— fahad 🤠 (@ShlongUziVert_) March 25, 2018

Who hurt this sweet country boy? We just want to know. The sad cowboy meme (alternatively, and more accurately called "sad howdy boy") has been around since 2017, but popped up again this year. Someone needs to reach out to him and let him know that everything's going to be OK.

14. By the age of 35 

By age 35 you should have lost at least twice your most valuable information for lack of backups.

— Miguel de Icaza (@migueldeicaza) May 20, 2018

By the age of 35, there's really no need to have your life figured out. The meme plays off a report by Marketwatch telling people that by the age of 35, they should have twice their salary saved. Twice. Who even has time for that?? 

15. I am: gay/straight/bi

i’m: ⚪️ gay ⚪️ straight ⚪️ bisexual 🔘never gonna give you up pic.twitter.com/6lsdZkN4g0

— hanz💨 (@hasharakl) May 23, 2018

Broke: labels. Woke: RickRolling. The gay/straight/bi meme has it all: pop punk lyrics, nods to classic Vines, and poking fun at tired gender binaries and sexuality labels.

16. Distressed LeBron

When you leave all the doors open but your dog poops in the house anyway pic.twitter.com/LY8u7CqQzJ

— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) June 1, 2018

Poor LeBron. His reaction after the Cavaliers lost to the Golden State Warriors became an iconic meme for, well, when you're too stressed for words. 

17. IHOb

IHOP is changing its name to IHOB and while people think it stands for “breakfast” I’m putting my money on BETRAYAL

— bea (@bayahhh) June 6, 2018

IHOP changing its name to IHOb for burgers was probably the most overhyped marketing ploy in history. The name change was thoroughly underwhelming, but sparked a hilarious Twitter feud between rivaling fast food brands. 

18. Melania's awful jacket

ok i am into this jacket pic.twitter.com/ZJdx4hwIsG

— sara yasin 😐 (@sarayasin) June 21, 2018

Melania, girl, what are you doing? The First Lady wore the worst possible jacket for a visit to meet detained immigrant children at the border. Was she trolling her husband? Was she messing with the mainstream media? Is she really that clueless? Either way, the $39 Zara jacket will probably be remembered as one of the memes defining this hell presidency. 

19. Alexa, play Despacito

nakia: t'challa was murdered in a ritual combat m'baku: this is so sad alexa play despacito

— beth (@sam_bucky) June 27, 2018

This is a beautiful shitpost. Reminiscent of the world's smallest violin meme, "Alexa, play Despacito" is the perfect reaction for overdramatic, not very sad news. Why is this meme so funny? It's not just not caring about the situation, but telling Alexa to play Despacito conveys absolute detachment from feeling anything. It's art. 

WATCH: IHOP tries to advertise its burgers and gets flamed