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I am not a dress up kind of person. If I can’t wear leggings, maybe jeans, I don’t go. I just don’t. It’s a personal choice that I have embraced.

But my daughter’s wedding…and being the Matron of Honor, I had to step it up. Last week, I did a mini fashion show during a family dinner to get some guidance from my family.

wedding dress options

Any guesses on what they voted on?

In the end, I sent this picture to both my girls. Their vote was unanimous. In fact, across the board, one was a decided favorite with the second place being varied.

I ended up keeping 3 of the dresses. If I don’t wear one to the wedding, it will get returned, but I will keep the other two.

The Cost

I can tell you that one of these dresses cost as much as the other 5 altogether. Any guess on what the most expensive dress of the set was? I can tell you that it was not the one selected. And frankly, the cost was the primary reason I went hunting for alternates. Two of these dresses are from TikTok shop, three are from Amazon, and one is from a local department store.

The dress that I will most likely wear in the wedding cost me $29. Any guesses?

And thankfully, I get to go barefoot, so no shoes were purchased. I did bring a nicer pair for the reception, but will go barefoot for the wedding itself. Yeah! But I am supposed to wear pearls, thinking that will be a Walmart purchase.

I do know this…if I ever get married again, I will not have a big wedding. Not even a medium wedding. And I will wear whatever I am comfortable in versus a wedding dress. I’d like to say I’ll wear jeans, but I think even I would acquiesce and wear some sort of dress.

Hope

Hope is a resourceful, solutions-driven online business manager with over two decades of experience helping clients streamline operations, manage projects, and grow their businesses through digital marketing and technology.

But life has a way of rewriting your plans.

A year ago, Hope made the decision to move in with her aging parents full time – a season she wouldn’t trade, even as it came with its own financial and emotional weight. Earlier this year, she lost her mother, and is now walking the tender, disorienting path of grief while learning what “forward” looks like from here.

Hope came to the Blogging Away Debt community in 2015 as a single mom raising five foster and adoptive children. She’s written through job changes, financial setbacks, and the bittersweet transition to an empty nest. Her kids are finding their footing in the world now – and so is she.

Rooted in faith and fueled by the same perseverance she’s brought to every hard season, Hope is ready to face her finances with fresh eyes and an honest pen. She believes that clarity, courage, and community can change the trajectory of anyone’s story including her own.

She lives in Austin, TX with her dad, loves adventures with her dog Addie, and is figuring out, one step at a time, what this next chapter is meant to be.

$100,000 milestone

by Hope

$100,000 achievement email from Upwork

Work continues to go well. It was kind of fun to get this email from Upwork where I’ve gotten a bunch of work over the last several years.

It’s definitely a whole new world when there are no kids activities or travel plans. I rarely leave the house these days during the week. Working 12+ hours a day between work and caretaking. But I’m content and focused. It’s a new phase that I am learning to embrace.

After this trip to GA for Beauty’s wedding, I have no travel plans at all. That may be the first time ever.

Diversify

I’m pretty maxed out on the hours I can handle for work now. As much as I would love to grow and make more money. I’m really tapped. Now I’ve got to figure out some ways to get work, but not have to be so actively involved in the production. I have no desire to set up and run an agency.

Using my car time to roll some ideas around in my head and identify some logistics steps to take to become more efficient and effective with my existing work.

Balancing Work and Life

I’m driving 4 hours per day, working 5 hours per day, and trying my best to get 10K steps every day. (Addie (my dog) and I are taking a meandering route to and from Georgia to give myself a break.) Then I’ll have 10 days in Georgia where I’ll work, get some doctors appointments in, see my girls, and help out with the wedding. I’m only taking two days off during this three week period. And those are solely for the wedding.

I know the email from Upwork is kind of corny. But to be honest, it just felt good to get this stupid simple “atta boy” of recognition for an accomplishment I can be proud of. As a contractor those don’t come around very often.