Have you talked to your local extension agent as they host at least 2 sales a year and might be a great help with this swap show you would like to host. Paul

OMG wouldn't that be crazy- doing a 10 k together!! Our temps outside in the morning are just above 0 celcius (32 F), which is much warmer than normal for us. Today it got to 16 celcius (60 F) which is totally crazy in mid March for us. I have some slimmer fitting Nike yoga pants and some Nikes that are a few years old (but have not seen too many miles til this past few months)and just any old tshirt. I have an ipod shuffle that makes indoor running a bit more bearable. I think it is time for new clothes; longer pants and better tshirt to run in- will probably go with long sleeves as it is still cool in the mornings. We are headed to Minnepolis this week, so I am making a quick trip to Albertville outlets where ther is a Nike outlet. Hoping to scores some deals there. I am going to look into runners in the next few weeks, and some better socks too. I think the runners I have are cross trainers, so I think I should get some real running runners. I find occasionally my knees are a little sore. That has got me a bit worried and motivated to get new runners. janet

I actually think it is very regional. I live in NY and attended many very elaborate weddings where I had to shell out a $300 gift ($600 for close family) for a gift. I think the idea is that you have to cover your plate and then some. My DH's friend is a wedding photographer and he charges a minimum of $12K for a wedding and he is booked solid. Around here, giving money is a norm. The registry is for the bridal shower and I have seen many registeries that include plasma's and $400 place settings. I have several girls at my job getting married and they are spending between $25-$40K. It's outrageous if you ask me and quite stressful because you want to attend these events but they become very unaffordable! In addition, for the amount of money you spend on a wedding, you can put a down payment on a house! When I got married 7 years ago, my parents offered m $20K to pay for the wedding. We looked at several places that cost $150/person and it just didn't feel right sending all that money on one day. We opted to have our wedding a restaurant instead of a reception hall and invited 75 people (much to the chagrin of my parents who wanted me to invite 200 people). My bouquet and cake were from Costco. I had one maid of honor and advertised at a local college to get cheap photographer/videographer. My dress was off the rack of a bridal store and I drove myself to the church. I ended up spending about $7K and the other 13K was part of the down payment for our home. I will admit that my friends and family were generous despite the simple nature of our wedding which I was extremely grateful for.

I agree with Jannie on the time. If you arrive at the church at 1:30, you will have time to visit with other people you may know before going into the home. It sounds like you are in for a wonderful afternoon. Have fun!!