100 days!

100 days until the wedding!

Wow.

Well a bunch of things are moving:
- bought our bands
- received first shower gift (taking to shower to open, although it'll be fun trying to keep Murphy from getting into the not so greatly sealed box!)
- shower RSVPs coming in, travel arrangements being made
- bit of nailbiting over budgets - we'll be revisiting this weekend
- intensifying the workout(OK, I fell off, but I'm getting back to it)

With the shower and J's parents coming the next weekend, we are trying to step up the perpetual house cleaning efforts. Hopefully we'll get real progress made this weekend.

Another big and upcoming project - stationary. Shower thank yous and invites need to be designed and go out nearly in sync.
Then the programs and timing can follow a bit later.
In between will be favors, discussing Sonny's contribution (can't talk to him until after July 15), and tidbits for guests.

AND - Congrats to Sonny on the Arts Council grant!!!
:)

Expect more soon - will definitely share shower details!

Slacker, skulker, funny guy

So blogging about the wedding hasn't been going too well. I keep saying "maybe by next week" I can get up to date. We'll see. Have to work until roughly 9:30pm next Tues, so maybe I'll get a bit of down time next day to recoup....

Last night, we took Murphy and Molasses outside for the first time (one at a time). As with Molson, they will be harness cats, allowed outdoors for supervised jaunts in the backyard only -or maybe the deck at Grandma's.
Murphy was first and as much as he likes open windows he was pretty nervous and confused. He skulked - belly low to the ground - sniffing carefully in a small little bit at the back corner of the house. J called him from further into the yard and Murphy, instead of turning to see, did this backwards skulk so that he could face J without putting his back to something he hadn't sniffed yet.
Molasses was a bit less nervous, though he still didn't venture far.
Of course, Molson had a few years on the balcony at our first place and time on the back "deck" of our second place before I ever took him to the yard.
We'll try again tonight and I'll give J a camera, jic.

I don't watch Last Comic Standing regularly, but last week we caught Josh Blue and he was awesome. While many comics, with jibes at serious and painful issues like rape and abuse, made us wince - Josh had us falling off of the futon, almost in tears. Highly suggest you check him out and watch for him as Last Comic Standing moves into the house.

And, I've started in on my summer indulgence - Hell's Kitchen. After the finale last season, I find it fascinating, even when he's pretty much a jerk. Last season, the nice tattoo'ed guy made it to the final 2 and had to run a kitchen. He started by being very polite, asking nicely, not shouting - and in return people were slower, less motivated, and screwed up a bit. He saw at least a partial justification to Ramsey's coarseness - started yelling and pushing and ended doing an awesome job and winning....
Not quite sure what I think yet of this year's crew.

Holiday weekend reading

Book #8 - Night by Elie Wiesel. Wow. Powerful stuff. So much of it stays at the back of my head, too. One particular quote that stuck with me a bit more, possibly because I deal with proportions so often - as they arrive at Buchenwald: "A hundred of us had got into the wagon. A dozen of us got out - among them, my father and I." While I had read elsewhere about the Holocaust, I had not previously seen the perspective at the beginning - how the Jews of Sighet dismissed the warnings, not thinking it could ever be so bad for them... As I type, I'm reminded a bit about Outwitting the Gestapo by Lucie Aubrac - it's been a while since I read that. May need to again.
Thoughts also on perspective on religion, to be saved for a later date, when 2 more books are finished.

Book #9 - The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren. I started this in January as a sort of tag along for the 40 Days of Purpose activities at the church where I play bells - it took me a bit longer to read. I will not begrudge those that found this powerful their experience, but for me - well, it gave me an opportunity to flesh out what I do NOT believe. To clarify what bothers me about many approaches to faith in the Christian world today. I don't want to rant to strongly on religion here - and in large part because a good deal of what I believe is that one's belief system should not be imposed on others - so I'll leave it at that and we'll revisit this (briefly), along with Night when I get those other 2 books done.

Book #10 - The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis. Still rereading the series and reliving things I enjoyed deeply when much younger. Was grateful not to have Susan nagging in this one, and enjoyed the many adventures they had, though each adventure could have been fleshed out more....

More wedding stuff tomorrow, hopefully. Have a whole list to catch up on!

When advice pays off

I went equipped with several dress ideas from magazines and the web - all dresses I knew David's had. We started with the top 2.

Talk about layers!

Talk about marshmallow! I felt like I was prepping to become Mrs StayPuff - ever so similar to the ooey-gooey-ness of her hubby!
What could I have been thinking!

Here's the pic of the worst offender. I had liked it because of the lacy jacket that gave my twiddly fingers something to play with besides flowers and ring and might keep my Italian roots from emerging (during vows)in the hand gestures that so often accompany my conversations...

The attendant, though massively swamped with prom and wedding shoppers for the sale o' the month, suggested something totally different. A different cut, a different color - than most on my list. I fell in love! Mom cried, Paula cried (I think), I cried. So perfect!

I can't wait until J sees me in it as I come up the aisle!!!

Fall Harvest meets the Mastodon

That's our theme! Since we're having the reception at our local science museum - drinks underneath the life-sized mastodon this seemed perfect and is allowing us to have some great fun - not many will have pictures with Manny Murray for their wedding day!:)

Our goal is to have this day be incredible - for us, especially, but also for our guests. One of the last things we wanted was for them to be bored or to think back years from now and not be able to remember if that was our wedding or Cousin Rhonda's. I am sticking to very few "conventions" and it's a blast!

Could it have been less traditional? Yes. I've seen those Flickr photos of people carrying fake tommyguns or in zombie makeup. I do have SOME girly girl in me! But I think it will leave a positive mark. J has had to rein me in at times, at least music-wise, that I might not be setting the proper tone for the moment, but we've worked it out...

People can wander off and play with museum toys if they get bored. Stationary, music, and ceremony should all be pretty unique. I'm excited!

Oh, and I REFUSE to be stressed! No way will I get down about OUR day. When potential stressors come up, I make the decision to take an alternate, no stress route. Here's to actually having a blast... Slante!

Wasn't there a wedding or something?

I haven't been posting the wedding story and I now think I'm missing an opportunity to get down a lot of what I've been thinking, dealing with, and the creative breakthroughs I'm pretty proud of...

I had this weird hesitation that I would be spoiling something by letting people know before hand. But now that I think about it - I'm telling everyone almost everything anyway.
There are some things I'll keep as a surprise, but I can talk about the rest.

I may have blogged about some of this stuff before, so if it's a repeat for you I appologize, but now it'll be in the forefront and an ongoing thing, with "other stuff" sprinkled in. Like, oh, if one of the boys decides to post - iotw - if miracles happen!

To start - basic updates - 5 months to go and we are in a pretty good place:
Save the Dates mostly sent
Ceremony, reception - caterer too, meal type but not menu
Transportation
Cake, photographer, florist
Dress
Most of the party - MoH has dress
Most of the music and a plan to get it played
Officiant and ceremony thoughts a-brewing
Registry
Favor and stationary ideas/ in process
Lots of thoughts!

Stay tuned - next up -- Theme and tone

In passing...

A small block house on a nice but busy street. Close to the expressway ramp and an apartment complex, but in a fairly affluent suburban neighborhood. Up for sale by the big local realty, the sign out front says at the top "Surprise Inside".

I should have snapped a picture but thought of it too late and the street is one way right now due to construction.

I can see why they might say that.
It made ME think of the house as a Cracker Jack box. "Surprise Toy Inside!"

*************************************************

Imagine a party .....
An upper class affair. Maybe it follows an evening at the opera, a la
Match Point. A party from the society page of the New York Times. Held in a room built just for the occasion - complete with crown molding, fireplace, wainscotting, etc. And the main attraction? The key refreshment? That very room!
Imagine the upper crust of society lapping away at the very walls that surround them. A bit surreal. An excellent literary metaphor. A very weird evening, to be sure.

I'm drooling at the thought, though.

Here's the actual site - I think the dress in the upper right looks like chocolate too - now that would get a bit strange...

Bunny!

 
Living in the city, we don't really expect to see much "wildlife". J has encountered bunnies living on a slope of tangled brush near the University power plant. One day a turkey was walking down the middle of the busy street we used to live on. That's partly why we got so excited to see a bunny in the backyard.

It was a little scruffy.

But so long as it sticks to overgrown grass or the weeds in our lawn, I welcome it. 

Book catchup

I'm reading so many pieces of different books, as always, but I'm shamed to say I waited so long to blog on the last 2 I finished that I almost forgot what they were!

Book #7 - The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. For book club in March. I like the premise and I enjoy a good archeological/ historical mystery. BUT. For me it was a little too focused on the events of 3 days. Too much on the minute details of life at Princeton - like it was trying to be 2 very different things. I wanted to see more about what happened as they acted on their discovery of the ancient text's true meaning. There were a few good quotes. Not too bad overall, but I don't think I'd really seriously compare it to Eco.

Book #8 - Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson. A bit hokey of a premise that annoyed me at first. So many things seemed tired. But the story was compelling enough to draw me in, to keep me wondering about what might happen next, even after I'd set it aside. One of those guilty pleasures, I guess. And some of the "our world" things so out of place in the "strange world" became endearing.

Happy Birthday Daniel-san!

Happy birthday to Danny - our silent partner...

Here's the new do. I think I like it. It's different actually fussing with the hair in the am, but I think I like the change and I'm looking forward to playing with wedding do's!

2 movies - finished 2 books but will blog on them in the next post...
Ultraviolet - Pretty darn cool. Milla kicks butt - I love the color changing hair and the boots are very kick-butt chick cool. May have to find me some.... For when I get back into shape, you know.
V for Vendetta - really liked this and most of its points, although Jenny, Aaron, J and I all pretty much agreed that the blowing up of symbols was a bit rough. What it symbolized was currently bad, but what about what it stood for in the past? It just kinda' hit too close to home, though it really was supposed to.

Lessons learned?

I remember one night when the family was gathered to watch my favorite TV show - The Incredible Hulk -awesome!:). My stomach started acting strangely and I had a panicked realization that I was about to be sick. But I couldn't miss the show! I told Mom that I needed some ginger ale NOW! She came back with it pretty quick and I rushed to swallow it down. Of course it didn't work, just made things worse probably. I got sick in the middle of the living room.

I've often thought that maybe I just really didn't understand the signals my body was trying to send yet. That I didn't believe I was going to be sick, just that I was just a little out of it and thought the ginger ale would help. In reality, I didn't want to miss Lou's sweet green guy.

Flash forward a whole bunch of years to present day. Twangles of a migraine with a tinge of nausea. I'm much better at reading my body's signals. I'm not in front of Lou or even deep in a session online. I start with some ginger ale to "calm my stomach" and find myself almost reaching for a huge cinammon bun. "Maybe if I eat I'll feel better", I'm saying. What, really, has changed?

-----

J was going through some of my college pics and commented on how much he liked my hair with some curl.
Now, I haven't done anything to my hair but lop off dead ends since oh, 1995.
I had a bit of layering at my last trim, about a year ago.
I just really lean towards natural - it's easier and more me.

But he likes the waves, and if I want to experiement it'd best be now, well before the big day in October.
I go on Saturday.
I'm fascinated by how nervous I am. It's just a hairdo. The person doing it is trusted and has taste. And yet, I see myself with a bag over my head next Monday.

Check back for before and afters.

------
Finally - Sonny has yet to pony up any pics of his new place!!!

Peep!

J got me this super-soft "giant" (relatively) stuffed Peep - I love it! It makes me smile every time I see it!

Ran across someone the other day who had only recently had a fresh Peep - previously he had only had stale ones and figured that's what they were like. Oh, what he was missing!

Went to Jenny's Oscars party Sunday. It was a good, relaxing get together - with good food. I finally made the clay pot loaves I'd been meaning to make - the Constant Gardener's Garden Herb Bread pictured in her post. Personally, I didn't try the Turkish Delight because I was nervous about strings being attached....

Happy Pancake Day!!!

The Forgotten English calendar J got me for Christmas says there's an old British tradition of pancakes on the day before Lent.

Not quite Mardi Gras, but I do enjoy pancakes... I'm thinking dinner.

The nature of illness

Been meaning to write this for a while, just kept getting pulled off course.

For most of my adult life the vast majority of illnesses that I have encountered have either been based in a headache/ migraine, or accompanied by one. I guess it just made sense to me that sick=groggy or otherwise not with it.
I expected to come out of the anesthesia groggy and disoriented, but I was probably more alert and coherent than I normally am in the morning (even after I get to work). I slept a lot, but since I was clearheaded I didn't think that anything else was up.
Until I stopped sleeping and started trying to get around. My head kept telling me "duh, you had surgery", but my subconscious was sending another message. It took me a couple of days to figure out what the boundaries were and then I still didn't get it totally right. Now, almost 2 weeks later (at 2 weeks I can work out again and will really start on the road to wedding dress killer toning), almost halfway through what I'm terming the healing period, I understand a bit more what happened.
Interesting the filter a recurring issue can put on things, and at such a visceral level.

In other news, I plan to post some pics soon...Loving the creativity of the wedding thing, but right now, I don't really have pics or solid solutions to share. As I do, they'll show up here.

Good luck to Sonny on the move.
Later.

Thanks to loved ones

I have an awesome fiance who is taking excellent care of me as I get over this - and is feeding me prime Valentine's gifts - "Indestructable Love" Hulk chocolates, Hot Pepper Raspberry preserves, Strawberry Rhubarb preserves, a single rose for the bedroom and a dozen for the living room! :) Best of all is just his being there and being so supportive.

Also extremely grateful the 'rents are nearby - it really helped to have them around during all this and Mom fed me very well!

Want to go to sleep, but I'm in the office for some weird reason.

Recouping

At home recovering from minor surgery yesterday. Not too big a deal, I guess, but still a freaky experience. Walking into the operating room, unable to see very clearly because glasses were left behind,climbing onto the table, looking at the monster lights and faces watching me as others tied me down (so I would slide off) and started the leads for the equipment. The team was excellent and I had no negative effects from the anesthesia. Now, I'm just a bit sore. Standing and sitting upright can only be done in little bits. But it's done. We'll see at the follow-up the official results, but hopefully the whole business can be put out of mind for 6 months or so.
So I can get back to wedding stuff! And reading.

Book #6 - The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. Very enjoyable and heartwarming, even though at times a tale of hardship and society's wrongs. The women are strong and wonderful and the breaking down of color barriers a very good thing. Plus, I love honey. I want Mom to read this because it's good, but also because she spent some time in NC back then, at a similar age...

Need to go lay down now.

Just beyond my reach

Last night I had a wedding planning dream. In it, I came up with the perfect idea. "That's it!" I cried, "Eureka!" A little while later, I stirred back to reality to pet a cat or something and settled back into the same dream, but the idea was gone. I don't even remember for certain what it was for. Bummer.

Tissue issue

Molasses is a carrier. Toys that he enjoys are picked up and toted around and ultimately in end up in one of his "special places", various caches around the house (I know of 3 right now). That's all well and good and pretty smart and cute. But now he has discovered toilet paper.

This was waiting for us in the kitchen when we got home from Kenn and Jenn's Super Bowl party. Not only had he found a random roll to shred, one of these was actually on the holder - we found that disassembled in the living and dining rooms.

Poses a bit of a dilemna - here's a product you really need close at hand, but which you have to keep hidden or else it gets stolen and shredded.

Happy news, in our thoughts, and general restlessness

Welcome to Lauren Rose, Tina's new baby girl - born Sunday 1/29 at 2.2lbs!
Continued best wishes and thoughts for Tina and Lauren - hopefully both will be home soon,in loving arms!

Thoughts also for Sherry (hope I spelled it right)- Sonny's bandmate Geoff's wife - as they work through an illness, too.

Otherwise, I have so many ideas for the wedding, I'm busting at the seems. Meeting with the facility today only brought up more possibilites. And the weather is gorgeous. Revising papers and powerpoints? How could anyone focus?

Ah, well, only 1 hour to go....

Looking forward to ditching at least one "ancient" tool

We've finally given up on dial-up and will be getting DSL next week! This is huge, especially when it comes to being able to do wedding planning - registry, guest list management, honeymoon planning, website development - from home! I'm excited.
Maybe one day we'll get cable, but I don't really care about that.
What I might get before the honeymoon is a cell phone so I can get some pics to Flickr before coming home....

One step at a time, though.