When Geeks Get Married: Wedding Recap, Pt. 2

The Kiss!!
Originally uploaded by measi.

The drive down to Bristol was prettier than I remembered it being. Granted, it was an absolutely amazing day - crystal clear sky, no humidity, everything bright and cheerful and just out of a postcard. We arrived at the farm just after 5 - not long after the groomsmen did. As I saw kilts moving across the opposite end of the field, I quickly scooted over to the cocktail hour cabin to hide from Erich (given that I was a bit obvious wearing white and all). We gushed over the beautiful bouquets my florist had created (all I'd given her were the colors I'd prefer - I was amazed... but more on that in a little while). We stood on the deck and admired the view, took a few pictures, and just relaxed until it was time.

Through all of this, I was feeling very calm. Oddly calm. As in "I'm here to witness someone else getting married" calm.

But then we lined up to make the walk up the aisle. And then the music started - Storybook Love from The Princess Bride, and we started walking - my dad on one side of me, and my mom on the other. And my brain just shut down. I barely remember seeing people along the aisle. My knees were shaking, and my anxiety was blown full open, and all I could do to keep moving was stare at Erich (who was beaming back at me). I know I gave my dad a kiss, and then everything began.

And it was a swirl of words. Our friend Tony had hand-written the entire ceremony we'd emailed him the week before into a beautiful little journal (which he presented to us later). All I could do was smile at Erich. I'm very thankful that I knew I'd never remember my vows if I'd decided to memorize them. As it was, I started repeating them early because of my nerves (getting a chuckle out of everyone). That, oddly enough, was what finally calmed me down.

But for those curious, here's our little wedding ceremony, in its entirety:

Tony: Welcome. We are gathered here today on this beautiful fall evening to witness the joining of Melissa and Erich in marriage. Melissa and Erich, have you both come here willingly?

Us: (together) Yes.

Tony: Today is a celebration not of a beginning, but of a bond that already exists between you. In many ways, your lives are already joined. Today you declare your intention to make this joining deliberate and permanent.

Tony: (to the guests) Melissa and Erich desire to be united in marriage surrounded by you, their friends and family. All of y9ou are here because you have played some part in bringing Melissa and Erich to this moment. Let us all remember those who cannot be here today, but who are with us in spirit always: Melissa's grandmother Mary, Erich's grandmother Miriam, Erich's grandfather Norman, and especially Erich's mother Deborah.

Tony: Melissa and Erich have chosen as a couple to perform a box, wine and love letter ceremony. This box contains a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a love letter from each to the other The letters describe the good qualities they find in one another, the reasons they fell in love, and their reasons for choosing to marry. The letters are sealed in individual envelopes, and they have not seen what the other has written.

Tony: (to us) Should you ever find your marriage enduring serious hardships, you are to, as a couple, open this box, sit and drink wine together, then separate and read the letters you wrote to one another when you were united as a couple. By reading these love letters, you will reflect upon the reasons you fell in love and chose to marry each other here today. The hope is, however, that you will never have a reason to open this box. And if this is the case, you are to open this box to share and enjoy on your ten year anniversary! Melissa and Erich, please seal the box.

Tony: (to me) Melissa, please repeat after me.
I, Melissa, take you Erich, to be my husband - my best friend, my partner in life, and my one true love. I give to you, in the presence of these witnesses, my pledge to stay by your side as your wife in sickness and health, in joy and sorrow, as well as through the good time and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, encourage you to achieve all of your goals, laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you forever.

Tony: (to Erich) Erich, please repeat after me.
I, Erich, take you Melissa, to be my wife - my best friend, my partner in life, and my one true love. I give to you, in the presence of these witnesses, my pledge to stay by your side as your husband in sickness and health, in joy and sorrow, as well as through the good time and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, encourage you to achieve all of your goals, laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you forever.

Tony: (to Elizabeth, our ringbearer) May I have the rings?
(to us) Melissa and Erich, I invite you now to exchange your rings as a symbol of the vows you've just spoken.

Erich: (to me) Take this ring as a symbol of my love, as this ring has no beginning and no end, as is my love for you.

Me: (to Erich) Take this ring as a symbol of my love, as this ring has no beginning and no end, as is my love for you.

Tony: And now, by the power vested in me by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, I now pronounce you Man and Wife. And in the immortal words of Mel Brooks, "Good! You're married! Kiss her!"

(we kiss)

Tony: And I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Erich and Melissa Krueger!


We bounced away down the aisle to the Monkee's I'm a Believer (because really... it practically was written for the two of us, recent Shrek usage aside). And as we got halfway across the lawn, I finally exclaimed "Holy shit we're married!" Much to the amusement of those who were in earshot, of course. I specifically remember Michelle cracking up.

Now, here I'll stop for a moment and gush about my bouquet - because it was absolutely perfect. Everything was in deep reds - a center Calla lily, with four of those beautiful deep red (with almost a purplish edge) roses, a blend of seasonal mums, all surrounded by reddish-purple (!) hydrangeas. No filler in any of the bouquets - all were full of flowers! Melinda hung mine up to dry afterwards, and it will take a carefully guarded place behind glass here in my office as shelf decor where the cats can't get to it. :)

Everyone went off to the cocktail hour, while Erich and I were off for formal photo shoots with our bridal party and parents. There's one particular shot that I'm looking forward to seeing from our photographer - the Scots on a Rock shot (with all of the kilted men in a row on the rock). We have lots of shoes pictures and hopefully a good chunk of silly pictures as well. I was laughing for the better part of the rest of the night. :)

The two of us opened the clambake at 7 by ringing a big dinner bell hung on the side of the tent, and our amazing caterer had everyone gather round the big cooking pit to describe how everything was done - over rocks and seaweed and steaming. And then we were introduced, went into our first dance (which revealed to everyone how Erich and I just do not dance) to In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel, and then we sat down for two beautiful toasts by Tone (best man) and Melinda (maid of honor). After that - the feast of clams, mussels, lobster, johnnycake bread, smoked codfish, sausages, corn on the cob, and potatoes commenced.

Oh yes, we feasted. And it was all good.

The dance floor opened, and as expected, there was no need to encourage this crowd to get up and dance. We received a bunch of compliments all evening regarding our DJ, who played a fantastic mix of classic standards and more modern dance songs to keep everybody moving. The floor was jumping all night. :) I danced a bit toward the end of the evening, but for most of the night both Erich and I were flitting around talking to people (as. IMHO, all good bridal couples should do at their receptions). Between the two of us, I don't think we missed anybody - but I'll be dropping everyone a note in the mail over the next few weeks anyway just to make sure.

Dad and I then danced to the song he selected - which is one of my lifelong favorites... What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. My dad, ever being my dad, was singing and being a bit goofy as we danced. It was perfect and very us. :)

Our cake was soooo delicious. We picked a vanilla cake with strawberry and whipped cream filler layers, all covered with buttercream frosting. Oh, god it was delicious. We did our cake cutting to Love and Marriage by Frank Sinatra (famous for being the theme song for Married with Children... as soon as it was recognized, we got a LOT of laughs). We were both well-behaved. No cake smooshing here!

After that, it was lots of dancing until around 10:30, when everything had to wrap up. The final dance of the night was, as tradition for me since high school, The Dance by Garth Brooks. I've had a few people ask why I picked a song about breakups (both in person and livejournal), so I feel the need to explain this one a bit. First - it was always the last dance of the night for every formal dance in high school (of which there were many... because we had nothing else to do). And also, it's never been a song about breakups to me - it's been a song about accepting the hardships in your past and embracing them as lessons that carry you into the unknown - and hopefully brighter - future - very fitting for Erich and I, considering our lives during this past year. The entire song is summed up to me in these lines - "Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance."

Your viewpoint may vary, of course... but yeah, that's my take on it. And it's just a pretty song.

As the music died down, the group of Tau Beta Sigma sisters still in attendance carried on the Boston University pep band tradition, starting up a rousing round of "Hey Baby" to end the night. My dad was highly amused (having watched the BU band in action a few tims), and many of the other relatives looked on impressed. And then all of the Sisters gathered together, and we sang the TBS National Hymn (with harmony, even!) It's the first time I can recall ever singing it outside of a sisters-only event. Absolutely tickled me. I hope it becomes a tradition at all future Sister weddings. Really, truly. Needs. to. happen.

And then we all said goodbye - hugging everyone as they went off to their cars or back to the vans. Erich and I got into the Bentley and were whisked away to our hotel for the night...

where we collasped in bed, reading our guestbook pages and absently watching Crocodile Dundee on the midnight movie for about an hour before passing out.

It was an absolutely amazing day. Neither of us could have asked for better - we know that Erich's mom was looking out for us by giving us the beautiful weather. And we're still bopping around the house in amazement that we pulled this wedding together!

Thus ends the recap... but for all of the photos added to the photoshare to date, pop over here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/melanderich/

:)

Yay!

When Geeks Get Married: Wedding Recap, pt. 1

Mel and Erich
Originally uploaded by measi.

Four days later, I’m still swirling through everything that happened this weekend and just keep looking at it in awe. Seriously – I cannot believe everything went so well. Nor can Erich, for that matter. After months and months of planning, frustration, and unexpected hardships – the entire weekend went without a hitch. Well, except for the hitching that was meant to happen. That hitching went as intended!

So sit back with a cuppa – because it was a long, busy weekend full of fun and insanity. Lots to tell.

If I were to give one piece of advice to an upcoming bride who is planning her wedding on her own, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to choose bridesmaids that can help you with delegated planning and provide you emotional support as needed through everything. I would never have gotten through it all if I hadn’t had Melinda, Ivanna, and Maria by my side. Whether finding resources for vendors (photos and hair especially) or just providing emotional calming or hugs , all three were incredibly helpful.

The weekend festivities kicked off on Friday with a girls’ day out and my bachelorette party. Morning full-body massages, followed by lunch at the pub, followed by manicures and pedicures. I desperately needed that massage – it turned out that Ivanna found a holistic massage place only about a mile from my house! (yay… somewhere to go back to!) Quite heavenly. I was very worried about having my nails done – being the tomboy geek that I am, I’d never had my nails professionally done in my life. No idea what to expect. The result is very pretty. It looks very strange to me to have fingernails, as I am a chronic biter. I’m still wearing them, although I find it fairly difficult to do things and really do miss having sensation in my fingertips when I touch things. I think the lack of touch sensation is probably the most disconcerting. But at least for big events, I know I can do this. And Erich really likes them - so for now, I'll deal. :)

The bachelorette party was a very wild evening at the house. There were nine of us present, and the evening was full of fun but very silly games like “pin the penis on the man” (John and Rodney nicknamed the guy on the poster “sad boy” and gave him some chest hair with a sharpie). We had a penis piñata, a yummy cake from Sweet and Nasty cake shop in Boston, and after everything else – a crazy round of karaoke on my wall on the X-Box. One of the funnier events (that I’m comfortable sharing photos of, anyway) was Fizzy grabbing one of the penis whistles from the piñata horde and whapping it around the dining room. She managed to pick it up in her paws and lick it – sending the entire party to the floor laughing.

Saturday was the Unrehearsal Dinner in my backyard. We had 40 people over – family, friends, and the wedding party. It was the first time all of my relatives had seen my house – and so many people loved it. I was thrilled! We had tons of good food for everyone – lots of family favorites from both families were blended. So we had ribs and potato salad and chili mixed with pierogi and galumpkies, plus desserts and the obligatory shots of celebratory vodka. A good time was had by all with chatting well into the evening.


And then Sunday arrived with a brilliant blue sky.

I spent the first hour of my wedding day sprawled out on my bed, staring out the window at the trees, not really thinking about anything in particular - but making sure that I didn't allow myself to fall into the "omgimgettingmarriedtoday" freaking out that easily could have taken place. I was oddly calm. It felt like just another day.

By 11 a.m., the girls and I were on our way to Providence Place, where I popped over to the Laura Mercier counter at Nordstrom. Maria popped over to the MAC counter, and both of us got our faces put on. :) By noon, we were on our way over to my mom's hotel where we all got our hair done by my wonderful new hairstylist, Lynda. My photographer, Michelle, arrived at two and was just everywhere, taking fun pictures and laughing over the scrapboook that the girls had already put together of the Friday festivities.

3:30 p.m. came, and it was time for me to start getting ready. With my mom watching, Melinda helped me get into my dress in about 15 minutes. Back to the secondary room for some quick final touches on the hair, add a veil and tiara, plus a bit more lipstick, and I was ready to go.

I walked down the hall to find most of my family standing in the lobby, waiting to board the limo and shuttle bus we'd rented (dark windy roads + unfamiliar drivers + open bar at wedding is not a good mix).

And that's when the nerves hit. All of a sudden, reality just slammed me and I got all fluttery. Everyone boarded the transportation. Mom, Dad, and I got into the '57 Bentley, and off we went toward Mount Hope Farm.

Part 2 coming soon... just typing it now!

We have success!

Holy crap I'm married! :)

More details will come later... BUT... it went beautifully. Amazing weather, fabulous food, fantastic guests - it was an amazing evening.

I'm farking EXHAUSTED. So the longer recap will come probably Wednesday or so. Our last guests are leaving tomorrow, and Erich will be filling the house with the sounds of Halo 3 (he's out buying it now)... so I need some recoup time first.

But yeah... so weird. :)


Oh, and for my friends/familly who read my blog and who came? I've set up a Flickr group for photosharing... Please friend http://www.flickr.com/groups/melanderich/ and send your photos.. 'cause I'd love to make a real blog announcement 'n stuff.

heading to bed now...

- the old married lady

*shying away from calendar*

So…

Ten days out now.

My mom will be here in less than a week.

Things are moving along quite well, actually. It’s been weird to see things falling into place after months of frustration, freaking out, and stress. Barring any last minute complete panic issues, I think we’re in relatively good shape.

I've made my final order to the caterer. Dropped my dress off at David's to be pressed/steamed and made sure to make the pick-up appointment for when 's dress is ready next Wednesday. Contacted the local Maids office for Rhode Island to see about having them come out to do a final cleaning of our house. Erich contacted the guys who came out to prune trees earlier this year regarding yard cleanup. And we've just been doing some bits and bobs that need to be done.

Things that have kind of fallen by the wayside:
- a garter. I'm not tossing one, so really I don't need one. David's doesn't carry plus-sized ones. If I find one at Michael's or JoAnns, great. Otherwise, eh.
- a memory box/letter box for cards. It's my mom's new fixation point that she keeps asking about. So... fine. When she's up next week, we'll go get one at Michaels or JoAnns.

I'm still waiting on my dad to get back to me with our father-daughter song (I'll be calling him tonight if I don't hear from him). Erich and I need to get in touch with our friend who's marrying us so we can review what we're doing. Our actual vows ARE written, but the ceremony isn't quite hashed out. Not that it's going to be long, of course. But we definitely will need to discuss it with the rest of the wedding party, too.

And we need to get the rest of the upstairs cleaned up - get rid of the stuff in boxes and put my bookshelves back together. I need Erich's help on this solely because I have absolutely no spacial relations ability at all, and he seems to get bookshelves whipped into shape very quickly.

But yeah... almost there.

*crosses fingers*

My biggest worry at this point is just fatigue. It’s not really the insanity of getting things done, but how I’ll hold up over days of celebrations:

Thursday, all day – “The Old Lady Day” (coined by my mom, not me). Spending time with Mom & my adopted aunts, doing the lingerie shopping, hopefully having some good, strong drinks.

Friday, all day – “The Girly Day” Spending the day with my bridesmaids doing spa stuff and getting spoiled, followed by my bachelorette party in the evening.

Saturday – Unrehearsal BBQ dinner at the house, 4 p.m. “until”

Sunday – The wedding

I’m very glad we’re taking the full week off afterward. I imagine it’ll be Thursday the 27th before I feel like myself again.

The weekend, and the future

14 days. Eep!

The bachelor party was easily survived. I, as planned, spent most of my evening on the couch. I did not, as planned, get anything else done. My brain needed a complete break from all things wedding last night, and so that's what I did. I just shut off the phone, took a break, and had a very needed evening to myself.

The unedited Graham Norton episode had me laughing so hard that I went into a coughing fit (and had to stop watching it for a while). Funny stuff. Sometime around 11:30 or so, I threw in my Blackpool DVD and settled down, fell asleep somewhere into episode 1, and woke up when the guys came home - right as the scene in Funny Girls starts. :)

Erich and the guys returned just a bit after 2 a.m., and amazingly, the party broke up immediately- apparently the guys were just exhausted on the bus on the way back from Foxwoods (and most had sobered up by that time). I guess this is the sign of a bachelor party when the guys are mostly in their 30s! Most of the guys went home. I ended up with only Matt, Jason, and Erich's Dad crashing out at our house.

Got up this morning, had coffee and breakfast, and then just relaxed for a while. Some of the guys came back over to watch the Pats game, play board games, and just hang out and plan out characters for Erich's new d20 game he'll be kicking off at some point.

The last folks left around 7:30. Erich and I have just been relaxing since then - I have some laundry going, but otherwise, we're chilling out. We got a LOT of housework done. Other than the kitchen, the entire downstairs is put together and ready for family to see it. The upstairs just needs some work done in my office, and then we'll be good to go.

One very productive thing for today? We bought our full membership to the Royal Shakespeare Company. So as soon as tickets go on sale online for Hamlet? Oh yes, we shall purchase. :)

Reality

Last night, I drove back to Boston after a weekend of couch-lounging, storage box sorting, and general slackerdom.

I dropped her off, and then headed back to Cleveland Circle in Brookline to grab a dinner burrito at Boloco. (because I don't eat there enough during my workweek already). Munched it down, gave Erich a call on my cell, checked my messages (one from from Friday... *sigh* no, I'm horrid with my cell phone), texted her back, cranked my "dance mix" on my iPod, and started to head home.

By taking a right back onto Chestnut Hill Ave, and then a right onto Comm Ave.

No idea why - but that just felt like the right way. Okay. I recognize those weird little "don't know why..." thoughts, and entertained them.

Windows down, music thumping, I drove my way down Comm Ave - swinging by the old apartment on Egremont. Then I continued back down Comm Ave., passing by Hamilton House Hell - now private apartments instead of a BU dorm. Through campus- where life was VERY active with the students who had just returned this weekend. Then by Warren Towers, where I spent two odd dorm years. Through Kenmore Square, which looks nothing like it did when I was a student. Down through the back swing of the Fenway, to St. Botolph Street, to the dead end street, and I stopped...

Got out of the car, and looked up at The Beast for just a bit.

The lights weren't on, but there are colorful drapes in the windows. And there was a cat, resembling how Colley would sprawl, enjoying the beautiful evening weather in the kitchenette window.

And that's where I lost it. Really, honest to god lost it. I sat on the wall where I'd brought Colley so many times to explore outside, and released them.

Holy crap, I'm getting married. Three weeks from today, I will be married, starting a new life (which isn't much different than my current life, yet I know it'll be entirely different). The crying, the depression, the loneliness, the thoughts of ending everything in that one room apartment - all in the past. So far in the past, so foreign.

If you'd asked me seven, eight, nine years ago that I'd have sat there last night, staring up at that three-windowed apartment with a little fear, a little melancholy, a little pride, and then a really fucking huge smile, I'd have laughed insanely at you and told you off. I was the one who would never find someone. I was doomed to be a miserable nerd loner for the rest of my life.

It's a bit overwhelming, honestly.

O. M. F. G.

I am getting married exactly one month from today.


(wherethehelldidthistwoyearsandninemonthengagementgo?!?)


*squeeks*



*panics*



*hides under comforter*

Preventative Sick Day

So... on Day Three of the unexplained cough from nowhere, I decided to stay home to tend to this thing. It kept me up for the better half of the night. Lots of tossing and turning. Bleh.

The thing is, I have a long and annoying history with bronchitis that lasts for months. Not weeks... months. My dad used to drug me up on codeine to try to calm the cough, and THAT wouldn't do it. So when I start getting a random cough that's predominantly dry and hacking, I start getting a bit paranoid. Especially when I'm in the very plausible "I could still be dealing with this late September" range.

I'm not a hypochondriac by any means - except when it comes to bronchitis. I've had enough days of lying on the couch winded with bruised lungs from pain in the past, thanks. I'll be overly cautious here. The kicker is that other than feeling drained from all the coughing, I feel okay. My sinuses are clear. I've had a couple small bouts of fever here and there, I think. But I just SOUND bad. Bad enough that I was getting some annoyed "god, stay home if you have the plague" looks on the train last night.

*sigh* So yeah, preventative sick day.

So after sleeping an extra hour this morning, I came back downstairs to my still delightfully warm cup of hot coffee, and flipped on the TV. Ooh... X-Files. Sick day with X-Files on SciFi. I can do this. Oh, but it's the damn Chupa-thingy episode. *sigh* Why is it always the crappy episodes that show on sick days?

Dammit.

Still, it's being filtered with a ton of ads for Doctor Who tomorrow night. At least I know the show's actually being advertised now. ;)

In any case, while I will be resting, I'll make the day somewhat productive too. The key is to do stuff that won't require me to be physically active, because that's when I really start to cough. So it's a day where I find things that can be done sitting down. I have a ton of various paper to get through & shred (old bills, etc.) that can be done easily while I stay relatively still. And since Victory over Japan Day on Monday has delayed our trash pickup until tomorrow, I can get it into recycling immediately.

I'm going to push to finish something for the Anywhere but Cardiff ficathon so I can send it to beta. Anyone available for some draft reading this weekend if I get it to you? I figure if I at least get the first portion of it posted for the ficathon, I'll be happy. But I am really going to push to finish it so it doesn't become another floating unfinished WiP.

Soniced_Up sent me Chapter 3 of her fic to beta. I'll most likely work on that today so I can turn it right back around. by the weekend. She has an interesting idea going for her ficathon piece, IMHO. I'm interested to see where it's going.

---

Thanks to everyone who replied to me about my wedding ranting yesterday (mostly over on LJ). I do appreciate it, and I'm relieved to hear that while I may be a bit whiney and crabby about all of this, I'm not being a bridezilla. I haven't replied to everyone basically because I got busy yesterday, and then last night was just drained due to this cough. But I do need to get back to people's comments all over the place now.

Erich has been doing an awesome job of tracking down our missing RSVPs. He's whittled the list down by about half already. As of last count, I think he said we have about 20 more people to track down for answers. Which is awesome, because between the two of us we have about a half-dozen people who have become bigger parts of our lives since the original invite list was put together, and we want to have the room to invite them. AND... my aunt asked yesterday if my cousin can bring her boyfriend (which I said I'd get back to her on, depending on what the headcount is).

Now I just need my parents to return my calls so we can get the transportation issues solved - and in my dad's case, hear from him on my proposed father-daughter song so I can get the list to the DJ and strike THAT off my list.

I may whine about this wedding planning, but I am still plodding along. Slowly but surely.

Today, just a bit slower than other days. :P

T-minus 40 days

In bed last night, Erich turned to me and said point blank, "We're getting married in 40 days."

And my stomach flipped over. Both in excitement and dread.

Mostly in dread.

I'm getting really sick of the dread. I'm getting married. I should be happy. I should be all girly and giggly and bouncing.

And I'm not. Instead, I'm angry and crazy and absolutely bone-numblingly exhausted. I've gone beyond the point of exhaustion and frustration with everything where I could allow myself a good cry to let things out (been there, done that... like, a dozen times. It doesn't help).






And I feel really, really guilty for it. Because it's making me kick myself and question whether I'm being selfish or unappreciative that my parents are essentially paying for 90% of this shindig and becoming the bridezilla that I vowed I would. not. become.

And on top of everything, the stress and frustration has now been developing into somatic symptoms - I've had intestinal issues for over three weeks. Two days ago I developed one of my dreaded bronchitis coughs. And with the last two weeks having been slammed with work insanity, I'm now frantically trying to get hairstyle planning done five weeks out from this whole thing. Erich has thankfully taken on the task of contacting our massive RSVP no-show list, because honestly? I just can't handle it anymore.

And I'm resenting every moment of the stress. Absolutely RESENTING it.

This is not good.

/completely cranky, exhausted bridezilla rant

Friday Morning Musings

A very happy 33rd to my other half, Erich (occasionally popping on my LJ as , in case anyone was wondering who that was...). :) He's now a year older than me, at least for the next few months. *grin*

We'll be doing some sort of dinnery thing, per his interest, tonight after work. His dad & Linda are coming down tomorrow for lunch and some hangout time, and then Erich will be heading off to geek with the guys for the evening, and I'll probably curl up in front of the telly with those Chris Eccleston DVD's I still haven't watched.

My office had its summer conclave yesterday, where we did an annual update meeting and then broke into groups to do community service around Boston, and then met back up for lunch and some celebratory drinking. My group went to a playground in Charlestown, where we spread mulch over the entire playground area, did some trash cleanup, and some weeding. It looked quite good when we were done. But oh, my back is still tired. I'm not so much sore anymore, but the muscles in my back are just fatigued, which is causing everything to ache. So it's one of those "good" aches, but still, gah, I'd much prefer to be in bed where I can rest my shoulders.

I've finished the initial beta work on both of the short pieces I promised to do. So those will get mailed off later today, once I do a final read through on each.

Today is the RSVP date for my wedding invitations. I've only received half of them back so far. Above all, I think I'm most annoyed that all of the family members who have thrown me through the emotional wringer over the last two years are the ones who haven't sent back their damn RSVPs. Not a single one of them. I'm borderline pissed off on that little snippet. But of course, they probably figure that I figure that they're all coming. And while, yes, I do, there was also the request on my RSVP notes to include any allergies (since we are having... shellfish), and I know for a FACT that at least two of the people who haven't RSVPed do have allergies - extensive allergies - but I don't keep tabs on all of them and kinda need to know. Because if I don't work around said allergies, of COURSE they're going to complain.

And then there's the rest of the family friends and everyday friends who haven't replied. *sigh*

I have to admit that after going through the whole save-the-date mailing, then the wedding invite mailing, the fact that I have HALF of my invitees still not responding is well, a bit demoralizing to say the least.

Moral of the story - if someone sends you an invite that requires an RSVP, please send it back. Right away while it's on your mind, or at the minimum, make sure it gets back by the deadline they print. Seriously, even if you're not able to go. Just send it back so they know. If you're not sure you can get time off for the event, at least call the person and let them know that, because there are reasons why the invites have to go out and come back by a certain time. Now I'm in a monster headache and a slight panic because I need to get counts to my caterer and cake maker within the next few days, and as of right now, I literally don't have anywhere near the MINIMUM number of people I need to pay for for the caterer. I have no clue as to how many to reserve tables, food, etc. for.

*sigh*

I'm so brain fried. I really am.

In any case, I know a lot of people have been commenting, either on the now massive meta thread from the other day, or on various comments on my journal or elsewhere. I'll be responding to them tomorrow, probably.

My brain is mush

I owe three people fanfic beta work - and yes, it's going. I should have two of the pieces done this evening. The third is a long-term project, and I'm hoping to get two chapters completed by mid-week. My problem is that my inner editor isn't letting me READ the stories first, and just wants to jump into editing... and I don't like to do that. I need to read a story first, to see how the whole thing strikes me before I start combing through it.

As for my own writing? Hell if I know when it's going to happen. My brain is just in a pouty don'wanna sort of mood. And honestly, it's probably good for it to be that way, considering I have Lots of Wedding Crap To Do. But I need to get that little fic piece done for the "Anywhere but Cardiff" ficathon. I don't expect to have anything stellar to contribute, sadly. My question is should I post what I have during the ficathon, or shelve it and apologize, but add it in late, when my brain decides to work?

*sigh*

On the stuff-to-do front, it's been a very productive weekend, but I also found time to get some relaxation in, too. I took a half-day off from work on Friday (VERY needed after the three fourteen hour days earlier in the week). As always, the Commuter Rail sucks ass, leaving South Station about a half-hour late. What I wouldn't give for an on-time train. (sigh) But it does beat driving every day, and I have to remind myself of that. The Jeep isn't exactly good on gas, and it IS a 60+ mile drive each way. With Boston traffic.

Anyway - picked up my wedding dress from alterations on Friday afternoon. It fits beautifully now. Hem is just perfect, and the two small tucks under my arms make everything fit just right on the top. The bustle is a contraption to behold, I swear - ELEVEN ties. Because I have a fat ass. But the girls at David's Bridal were kind enough to number each ribbon and each loop for me (without me having to ask for it) to make it easier on the poor bridesmaids who'll have to deal with them.

So now, I basically am done with dress stuff. I bring it back two weeks before the wedding to have it steamed, and that's it.

Since I was in the area, I also picked up some metallic ribbon for my wedding Chucks. I wasn't thrilled with a lot of the color options, but I found a pretty metallic iridescent orange organza that has just a bit of wire in it for some strength. It's pretty close to the metallic shade of the orange on the heel stripe, so it'll go well. I bought three lengths, just in case one breaks. :)

So shoes are now done.

Updated the spreadsheet with our guest invites - so far we have 42 yes, 4 no. About half have sent RSVPs and the deadline is Friday. It's funny - my friends all said that they got a burst of RSVPs the first week or so, and then a trickle. There's really been no burst with us - we'll have one or two one day, none for a couple days, and then maybe four another day.

MY family are slackers. Like... only two families have sent back RSVPs. And I might note that my mom is NOT among the returnees.

(and I wonder where I get my procrastination?)

We got our first wedding gift delivered on Friday. We haven't opened the box yet, but it's from Linens & Things. I'm not sure whether to open it or wait until the wedding. For now, the box is sitting in the kitchen. It's not like Erich and I aren't staying together. But I know the tradition is to not use anything until the wedding, so... I guess it's probably better to wait.

Mom informed me that she has bought me the Margaritaville blender from Williams Sonoma as one of our wedding presents. She also said that "she needs to try it out first." ;) But needless to say, it'll be getting used for both the girls' day/night out if anything happens at my house and for the Unrehearsal Dinner. Because seriously... drinky things are required for wedding parties. And oh, this thing will get used - because both Erich and I like our drinky things.

and can I just say I'm cracking up at the tote bag on that webpage? I seriously may consider it... because I have a feeling this thing will be requested to be transported to various houses for use.

We wrote our vows this weekend so we can order our rings on Monday. Erich just needs to double-check his ring size before he sends in the order (because with the etching of our vows on the inside of the ring, it's not like they'll be easily resized).

And I've done a shitload of laundry. I'm not sure where it's all coming from - I feel like every weekend I'm doing a TON of laundry. There are only two people in this house-- where the hell is it all coming from?!?

And we reordered some of our kitchen, too. About two weeks ago, Erich found a great sideboard for the dining room that provided some much needed storage space. It's too big a piece for the kitchen, so we've put it in the dining room and moved all of the silverware, barware, bottles of booze, and bigger serving dishes/platters to sit on it. That opened up nearly an entire side of our upper cabinets in the kitchen, so we now have better storage space for dry goods.

I'm on the switchboard all day tomorrow, so I'll be doing a lot of the emails I didn't get to this weekend. And who knows, if it's quiet (which August does tend to be with the last weeks of summer vacation), maybe I'll get some scribble writing done?

I can only hope...

Being productive, slacking off, and brown-nosing

All in all, it was quite productive. I got a lot of the email work I needed to finish completed - already have heard back from the caterer, and a few of the panic questions (i.e. we do have a tent reserved for the reception, right?!?) are now solved to my relief. I got caught up on a decent amount of housework. I leveled my character in World of Warcraft to 70. And I did some file cleaning on my computer. Not too shabby.

Oh, and with the help of my father, I've hopefully solved the poor timing of female systems during the wedding issue, with the help of Walgreens. Dad called in a resupply of my birth control pills to the Walgreens near me (gotta love that as long as it's not a narcotic, he can call cross-country). I'll be picking them up and starting them tomorrow, making sure to take no placebo pills at all to force my period to skip. And if all goes well, I'll be requesting my own OB/GYN to please put me on the Seasonale that's now on the market, which is essentially the same idea.

Didn't get to my office as I'd hoped - but the pouring rain that was supposed to last all weekend and cool things off didn't really happen. It poured for about a half-hour this afternoon, but I swear it's muggier now than it was before. And so it's just miserable upstairs. But I'll get to it. It may be a midnight project next weekend, but I'll get to it.

Tomorrow morning I'll be getting up bright and early at five, driving into work (let's hope the Jeep doesn't break down like it did last time I did this... on Memorial Day weekend), and pushing a potentially very long day. But it will be a good thing. It's for a large, complicated client, and working with one of the senior account managers and a principal of the company. And I definitely want to make good on putting a strong effort into my workload. Hopefully it all goes well.

It'll be a short work week for me - I'm taking a half day on Friday because I pick up my dress from the alterations late Friday afternoon (eep!). By then I'm hoping to also have figured out the hair stylist issues and transportation for this shindig.

My god, it's August already. Where the hell has this year gone?!?

The upcoming weekend

Random aside - day to day, I've been hanging out over on LJ a lot... as I've become pretty involved with the Doctor Who fan crowd there. So if you have a LJ account, pop on over and say hi. My screenname over there is measi, just as it is here. All of my journal entries are cross-posted, though.

I'd originally toyed with (and signed up for) the Blogathon for tomorrow, but hadn't received an approved message by this morning. And honestly? I know better. I'm already running crazy, and I can't afford to blow the day on it this year.

So I'll do it next year. When I'm theoretically sane.

Instead, I'll be working through a massive half-wedding, half-house chores list this weekend. Thankfully some of it is just email/computer related, so hopefully I can get a head start on it if I have some lulls in work today.

-Update RSVP list, email to Mom and Erich
- Email caterer
- Email DJ
- Email payment addresses to Mom
- Finish Lowes registry, double-check Linens & Things registry
- Update wedding webpage
- Laundry
- Dishes
- Scrub office
- Move bookshelves in office
- LoM files to iPod
- Backup all mp4s to DVD
- Whittle through "my docs" folder
- Time and Chips "Anywhere but Cardiff" fic... 1,000 words written
- Level Tennetty to 70
- Email girls list to Melinda
- Strip beds from last weekend, wash, remake
- Grocery shopping
- Beta reading

Seriously... with all of the crap I have to do... there's absolutely no way I could do that Blogathon. I was stupid to even think of it.

But hey, I'll find a way to get through the list. And I'll multitask when possible to try to get stuff done faster. I'm a professional admin assistant. I can multitask quite well. :) And since the weekend's supposed to be absolutely craptastic, it may help me to stay on task.

I can dream at least. Stop giving me those looks, Erich.

I do hope to have at least a couple hours of couch time this weekend. I bought copies of The Second Coming and Revengers Tragedy (both with Chris Eccleston) weeks ago and haven't watched them yet - and since I can only watch them on the living room TV since they're Region 2 discs, it limits my time a bit. Doctor Who was mostly to blame for that, of course. But maybe this weekend I can find a couple hours for one of them.

We'll see.

Happy Friday, all!

When Geeks Get Married...

So... the insanity continues in the wedding planning. Talked to Mom, who I think had a heart attack this morning over money. But so am I, so no worries there.

By process of elimination, we've picked our rings: ooh... shiny!

And then the email thread commenced on vows, since it relates to the ring...

I start the conversation off quietly - with vows I actually really like, either as-is, or with some modifications by us to personalize them:

I love you. You are my best friend.
Today I give myself to you in marriage.
I promise to encourage and inspire you, to laugh with you,
and to comfort you in times of sorrow and struggle.
I promise to love you in good times and in bad,
when life seems easy and when it seems hard,
when our love is simple, and when it is an effort.
I promise to cherish you, and to always hold you in highest regard
These things I give to you today, and all the days of our life.

As a joke, I also suggested that we could send my family into spasms by doing the ceremony this way: http://weddings.about.com/od/yourweddingceremony/a/SeussFunnyVows.htm

In response, Erich sends me the link to a google search... all on the word "Obey."

Now... we've had a lot of discussion on that word - and my distaste about it. It won't show up in my vows (whether Erich decides he wants to say he'll obey me... well, hey... *wink*). But I can joke about it.

So then the next proposal for vows he gives is this:

I promise to put up with your family, pull your pigtails less, and obey the cats.

Followed by a quick revisement, with both sets of vows. Me = Erich, You = Me.

Me: I promise to pull your pigtails less, mow the lawn more often, and obey the petting needs cats always.

You: I promise to cook more (because I’m good at it), clean more (because my office is scary), and buy more coffee (because we both need more coffee).


That may have potential...

Wednesday morning musings

Both other admins are late this morning for doctors' appointments. How'd this work out? Well, no matter. It's nice and quiet.

I'm highly annoyed, based on current events and some calculations, that I'm going to have my period during my wedding, thanks to my cycle deciding to do some timing switches and show up a week early. HIGHLY. ANNOYED. (seriously... on ALL OF THE DAYS... the one that I'm going to be wearing white on top of white on top of white. SERIOUSLY). Pissed. off.

Gathered all of our contracts for vendors to double-check final payment dates. Glad I did... 'cause our site payment in full was due Sunday. *sigh* Have already emailed them with a copy to my mom to get that resolved. *sigh* So the panic ensues again.

We have six RSVPs already returned to us. It's very freaky. OMG people are coming to this thing. *runs* *hides*

I seriously need a haircut. And a recolor. And a clue as to what I'm going to do with my hair for aforementioned wedding, which frustrates me because I'm just NOT a hair person and don't care about it like I really should be doing.

Thank Goddess for Indiebrides.com, which has a kickass repository of readings and vow ideas that others have used. Me thinks I may be diving into those threads on the Kvetch boards this weekend to get those vows written.

Speaking of writing - scribbled 300 words on my piece for "Anywhere but Cardiff." Whether I finish or not, no can say. But I'll give it a try.

Well, no... it will get finished. Whether before or after the wedding is the real question.

Shit, I still have lots of beta reading to do, too. Hmm...

Life on Mars is awesome. Just finished Episode 7 of Series 1 this morning.

I need more coffee.

I haven't watched an episode of Who since Friday night. Scary.

No, I really need more coffee.

Shit, I hope we didn't fuck everything up with our reception site by missing that deadline on Sunday. Fuck fuck fuck.

.

Random Sunday Thoughts...

My accomplishments this weekend:

1) Wedding invites are DONE (save two that we need new addresses for). All addressed, all compiled, all stamped. They go out tomorrow.

2) The Linens 'n Things portion of our wedding registry is populated. I feel like such a mooch. But I have to admit to being excited that I may actually get some of these things and finally break free of college decor-itis. Somewhat, anyway.

3) Laundry - ongoing. I'm on load 3. One more load of towels, and then a mini-load of delicates to go.

4) Erich and his dad put together our guest room bed (yes, ... an actual bed. With a headboard and footboard and everything!). Unfortunately, the Queen-sized boxspring will NOT go up our stairs. We removed the back staircase pole. We removed the front staircase ceiling molding. Won't happen. So... if you're in the general southern New England area and need a Queen boxspring (now or in the near future), lemme know. We're going to have to go purchase a split-style boxspring for the Queen bed. Depending on how that goes, we may have a mismatched mattress shortly, too. We can make arrangements somehow.

5) We narrowed our wedding ring decision down to five different bands. We've decided to get matching bands, rather than the newer trend of getting ones that each person likes. Thankfully, we both have similar tastes, so it's been fairly easy. Choices we're down to now are: A, B (possibly in the rose/white combo), C, D, or E (not bicolor).

6) Saw Harry Potter: OotP again today. It was Erich's Dad's 64th birthday today, so we treated him to a heavy breakfast at the Cracker Barrel, followed by the movie.

It was better on second viewing. Still not my favorite, but I did like it better this time around.

7) Attended the wedding of Erich's cousin, Katy, and her (now) husband, David. It was at Sakonnet Vineyards in Little Compton, RI. Lovely place. Definitely a setting I'd recommend to anyone looking for peaceful New England space - near the water, surrounded by the vines. Although it was a bit buggy in the evening (welcome to July). Otherwise, weather was incredible for July - absolutely perfect. I can only hope we have such good weather in September.

8) Went a little snarky with Doctor Who fandom. But I'm better now and moving on.



Good weekend. Definitely can't complain! :)

Thursday Thirteen #26: Non-related musings

My brain has officially gone into wedding mush autopilot, so I don't really have anything witty for this week's Thursday Thirteen. But I can come up with 13 random thoughts for the week.

Measi's Brain-Fried Thursday Thirteen

1. My wedding invites are all addressed, save the four that my mom finally just emailed me fifteen minutes ago. That means I can get them addressed and out the door this weekend. Big, big check mark off the wedding "to do" list.

2. If you live in the U.S., love science fiction, and aren't watching the new series of Doctor Who that started last week - turn on the television on Friday night. Seriously. Having seen the entire series, it's fantastic. It's not the goofy sets of the 70s on PBS you may remember, as good as Tom Baker was. The last six episodes of this series are not to be missed, in my opinion. Blink, in particular, scheduled to air on September 7th, is not to be missed TV for any lover of really good, creepy TV shows, sci-fi or not.

3. Next shows on my Brit TV list - I've just started watchng Life on Mars. Brilliant writing, great acting. I garnished stares on the commuter train this morning as I broke out laughing at episode 2. I'm also starting Our Friends in the North, as a continuation of shows starring actors from Doctor Who. I've heard it's an amazing series.

4. I've now lost a total of 20 pounds due to wedding stress. Which I'm really not happy about, because I tend to double-gain back once I'm out of stress.

5. There is a distinct weather line ringing Boston at Route 128/I-95 this week. Outside of 128, it's hot and humid. But inside the ring, it's been in the low 70's, and foggy until today. It's throwing me off on my commute - hot when I leave in the morning, cold when I arrive at work.

6. I'm tired of hearing people chew loudly at their desks at work. The sound of people chewing (presumably with their mouths open) makes my stomach turn.

7. My World of Warcraft guild, the Burrito Bandits, has a new tabard - looking like a lobster bib. (a photo is over on my Flickr page). Our guild leader is insane... in a good way.

8. Speaking of burritos... I think a buffalo chicken one from Boloco is calling my name for lunch today.

9. I bought my first Moleskine notebook over the weekend for doodling and scribbling random thoughts. Because I need more notebooks.

10. I'm tired of my work wardrobe. It's bleh and boring and getting sloppy. But I hate the plus-sized clothes for summer, and can't justify a spending spree. Until after the wedding, I'm just going to endure it.

11. New official count on Hoodsie's toes - 7 on each front paw, 6 on one back paw, 7 on the other back paw. Boy's got a lotta extra claws. And my legs have paid the price as he play-pounces.

12. Holy shit I'm getting married in 9 weeks.

13. I really, truly need about a month-long vacation.

Distracted

The fog that has decided to settle all day over Boston Harbor definitely reflects my attention span today - lots of little things floating around, but nothing's quite distinct.

I have an omnipresent thought floating around regarding Melinda today, who's now recovering from surgery. As of the first update last night, she was doing quite well. Erich, who's had the same procedure - albeit under the methods done eight years ago - was surprised that she was up and walking yesterday. He told me this morning as I read Kevin's email that it took him the better part of a week before he was moving.

Amazing what a few years does for surgical procedures, eh?

In any case, Melinda's a fairly strong presence in my thoughts today, and I'm hoping her recovery goes smoothly so I can envy her in about ten weeks when I see her looking fabulous in a floor-length truffle gown.

Add to that the fact that I'm completely distracted from work today because my office bought out two theater showings for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Erich and I are going tonight after work. I cannot wait. :)

On the planning side, now that it's ever-present...

I'm about 3/4 done with addressing my wedding invitation envelopes, taking a break after every few to rest up my wrist so my writing doesn't start getting scrawly. When my wrist is fresh, my handwriting is surprisingly good - if I'm not using a ballpoint pen, at least. Ironic, considering that I always flunked handwriting in grade school!

Most of my friends have asked why I don't just print out the invitations using a pretty font on the printer, and I've said I don't want to. This is just one of those things I feel the need to do. It's the right thing to do - spending the time to personally address envelopes for my wedding. My love of writing isn't just in the structure of words on a page. I've always loved getting letters written by hand, and whenever possible - I've made a point to write letters by hand. There's something elegant and relaxing about it - reminding the world that it's not all about computers and technology. It's personal, and it's very me. And besides, it's not like I have hundreds of these to do. I have about sixty total. Not too bad at all.

Although I have to admit that writing formal envelopes to my close friends addressed as "Mr. and Mrs. HisFirst TheirLast" is a bit surreal. I'm going pretty casual on the inner envelope, just to stop weirding myself out.

I still have to get in touch with someone regarding hairstyles for the wedding. And I need to touch base with the caterer to start getting those gears going.

T-minus ten weeks...

I has weddingz insanities

Running through the mental checklist for the wedding has summed up my week. But we are now under three months, and it's officially "Okay... you need to get this shit done now" time.

And I just remembered that we forgot to sign the photographer contract. AGAIN.

*ugh*

Anyway... the list in the last week's accomplishments have been thusly:
- deposit for the cake
- finalized the hors d'oevres list & decided on the alcohol, style of catering, etc. from the options given
- had my fitting (god, was that only a week ago?)
- brought Masquedbunny to order her bridesmaid dress. All of the girls are now ordered.
- Erich decided up on his kilt tartan and the kilt rentals for the groomsmen
- We got in touch with my brother, miracle of miracles
- Designed and purchased my custom Wedding Chucks
- Invites arrived
- I bought stamps for said invites.
- Found our florist
- Met with said florist last night for a sample centerpiece. Absolutely lovely. She'll be sending cost estimates & contract this week.
- Drank an intriguing "ninjarita" at the impromptu Fourth of July celebration as I caught up with Sara about our wedding plans
- Did a quick tour of the hotel where my mom has reserved a block of rooms. We prefer the hotel she stayed at last week, honestly, but the one with the block *is* a half-hour closer to the wedding site, so she's keeping the block. Erich and I may rent a room at the other place, though, for our wedding night
- Dad sent me my pearls (on my request) that I got as a gift for my high school graduation. I've never worn them, and they've been at my dad's house the entire time. They should be arriving today here at work.
- Accepted the fact that no, I'm not into the wedding planning, but I'll deal, knowing that I'll have a good time on the day, even if it takes a crapload of alcohol to loosen me up

This weekend's projects (that will undoubtedly bleed into next week):
- address invites & get at least the long distance ones in the mail by Monday
- gather list of the girls for whatever Melinda is planning behind my back. (Goddess help me)
- Harass my mom for those final addresses she keeps telling me she wants added to the invite list
- Contact the spa regarding hair/massages/etc
- Contact the bridesmaids once I have prices for hair and stuff, and see who's interested, and who prefers to do their own
- Find time to sleep. A lot.

To kick off the weekend, though, we're heading to the drive-in tonight to view the Uber Manly Double Feature (TM), consisting of Transformers followed by Live Free or Die Hard. And since both are fairly long movies, we're not expecting to get home much before two a.m.

I has insanities. Mel brain go boom.

Thursday Thirteen: Things I've learned in the last week

It's Thursday morning - I'm very tired, sitting at work, and it's a depressingly gloomy day. If you watched any of the Boston coverage on CBS last night, you didn't get the half of how dreary a day it was. But it was fun. I just want the rest of the week off. :)

In any case, it's time for the Thursday Thirteen, and since it's the 100th edition of T13 on their site, they asked for a special T13 linking to your top thirteen favorite posts for the meme.

I'll be getting to THAT this evening, when I have time for it (and to also make up a couple missing T13s). Until then, here's my normal one...

Thirteen things I’ve learned in the last week

1) My mother is completely, utterly unpredictable. Things I don’t think will bother her about the wedding… do. And things I think she’ll flip a gasket over… don’t. I’m so confused.

2) Fourth of July celebrations on a Wednesday make for absolutely brutal Thursday mornings.

3) Guys vs. girls when it rains on the cookout: The guys all duck for shelter under the porch. The girls take over the chairs in the yard vacated by the guys, make sure the chairs are relatively under cover of the trees, and go about their business.

4) I’m severely out of practice with any sort of healing energy work. The girls were working with it last night, and now I have an energy drain headache.

5) Watching six cats work out the pack pecking order is fascinating. Particularly when the humans are dead wrong as to who the alpha male of the household was. I laugh at the idea that cats are solitary animals.

6) There’s clearly something wrong with me since I don’t enjoy the wedding planning like others do. But that’s okay. I just don’t like to fuss over things, and wedding planning is a whole lotta fussing.

7) I’m thankful I don’t live closer to the Italian markets in Federal Hill, Providence. I’d be broke and even fatter than I am now. OMG, the food is so good though!

8) Weddings are frighteningly expensive. Even when you think they won’t be. I should have really figured this out before, honestly.

9) Apparently, I can write NC-17 rated fanfic quite well, based on my livejournal friends’ list reviews. (blush). Not sure whether it’s a good or a bad thing that I have my friends requesting that I “write more smut.” Heh.

10) I don’t like gin and tonics. I do, however, like whatever Chris and Sara were putting in their “Ninjaritas” yesterday at the cookout.

11) There is nothing quite like having David Tennant, John Barrowman, and John Simm on the TV screen at the same time. The only thing I can think of to make that better is to add a young Mel Gibson to the mix.

12) Reactions that came from the groomsmen about their wearing kilts – my brother is suggesting he’ll be tempted to recreate the bottom-bearing scene in Braveheart (and well… he would.) One of Erich’s friends – “What did I ever do to you?” One of the other groomsmen reminded said dreading groomsman that apparently he tried to kill Erich with an icecube tray once. I have not heard this story yet. And I think I need to. Very soon.

13) I’ve rarely paid much attention to him since he left ESPN, but Keith Olbermann did an amazing commentary the other night on TV. This is the type of discussion the First Amendment was made for. When our nation is in crisis. Regardless of which side of the party fence you sit on, please watch it.





Off to work.

Wedding Planning Insanity Day #1

My mom's up in Rhode Island for a couple days so we can hammer the last big pieces into place with our planning.

I went for my dress fitting this morning - which was again much less painful (aside from a pin scratch that had me slightly bleeding a bit onto the dress at my armpit. *sigh* They said they could easily get it out.

Anyway... here's the pinned, but not yet ironed first photos of me in my dress, realizing how oddly surreal this all is - and how very real it's going to be in less than three months:
http://pics.livejournal.com/measi/gallery/0000eatp

After my fitting, we waited around the house for my mom to arrive - then headed to North Providence to meet with a potential florist. And all three of us REALLY liked her. She's done several weddings at Mount Hope Farm before, so she knows their restrictions (no loose petals for flower girls, etc), and immediately was talking about things that we could use at the ceremony and then reuse for the reception - which of course my mom loved hearing... a florist who's thinking of ways to get the most out of the flowers.

We then went for dinner in Federal Hill (the Italian neighborhood in Providence) and stuffed ourselves full of incredibly yummy food. During which time, the following conversation took place:

Mom asks "So did you get your shoes?"

"Yep." (I hadn't planned on telling her that I wasn't wearing wedding shoes... surprise her on the day in case she hates the idea)

"You didn't buy them when we bought your dress, though, right? What did you get? Ballet slippers?"

"No- but they're flat."

"Oh, okay. And comfy, I hope?"

"Oh yes."

"Please tell me you're not wearing Doc Martens."

"No - too clunky. Love them, but I'd be clomping."

"You got Mary Janes."

"Nope."

"Oh, I don't know - Converse high-tops then?"

*this would be where I stare at her in amusement, and Erich just starts laughing.*

She got it in three.

And surprisingly LOVES the idea, particularly for my ankle support, and immediately started suggesting I doll them up with organza ribbons for shoelaces (which is what I was planning to do to anyway) and flowers or bows on the toes. *snicker*.

Tomorrow - we will eat cake! Lots of cake! And then go see another florist down in the area where the cake maker is - although we really did like today's florist a LOT.


And my invites are here - eep!

Plans coming together

Erich and I have been fairly busy with the wedding planning lately. Lots of stuff is getting settled, resolved, or at least band-aided for the time being. Our awesome maid of honor and best man have been very supportive (mostly to get me to stop losing my shit).

But I'm honestly feeling a bit better, a bit more in control. We're now 90 days out. Ninety. I feel like it's tomorrow. So I keep switching between "oh... I'm fine. Really. No probs." and "ohmygodimsofarbehindshitineedtodothat."

Melinda has been keeping me sane via email. I will owe her big time after all of this.

We've booked our photographer - a fantastic photojournalism-style photographer that Melinda found via Craiglist. Her prices are fantastic, and I seriously can't wait to work with her, based on our phone chat a few nights ago.

Earlier this week we ordered our invites - so I guess this whole thing is official now. :) We had a good laugh as we went through the styles and verses available. Some are truly frightening. Highlight comments included:

"Those hearts are too heartsey..." <--- that would be me, while viewing styles in horror
"Stop with the rhyming!" <-- Erich, re: verses
"IN THE SPIRIT OF OUR ANCESTORS!" <-- both of us, big booming voices, re: verses

We decided on something basic and traditional. And autumney.

.

.

.

I don't think my mom has clued into the fact that we're marrying on a Pagan Sabbat, by the way. But I'm having fun with the autumn stuff in the meantime, playing around with the double meaning.

But of course, wedding planning still doesn't come without some stress. Now it's with my other relatives - starting with my brother, who acknowledges to my mom that he received Erich's email two months ago which asked him to be a groomsman, but he didn't read it, and then gives my mom some b.s. "you know, it's better if they call me..."

ARRRRRGGGGGH!

Yes, it's my brother. Scott is being Scott. Scott is always being Scott. But seriously - TWO MONTHS. At least reply to the email that it's better to contact you via phone, for cripes sake.

After all of this, you know what I'm doing for my honeymoon? Sleeping. That's it. Erich will be relishing in the new release of Halo 3 and I'll be sleeping. Wedding over, we'll return to our lazy geekdom.

But before then, I have the Wedding Blitz Trip 2007 to work through this week, as my mom comes up for another whirlwind two days: my first dress fitting, flowers, and cakes. That's the plan.

If we get that done this week, I'm so golden.

Thursday Thirteen #25 - Being Productive

It's been a very busy week. I'm so ready for the weekend so I can catch up on some sleep.

For this week's Thursday Thirteen, my list of accomplishments for the week (both good and bad). Most of them are wedding-related.

1) I found a wedding photographer! We've chatted briefly through email, and will hopefully talk over the phone within the next couple days... both of us are just having those "gah, can't talk now" weeks. But yes... photographer is now getting setled.

2) All of my bridesmaids have been contacted and have info to go dress shopping and such.

3) Erich and I picked out our invitations. We still need to decide on the wording - but they'll be ordered this week.

4) I had a LONG talk with my mom about the emotional b.s. that erupted two weeks ago. I still don't feel that she gets my point of view at all, but supposedly she's put out the fires down there. To a point. We'll see. BUT, at least two things were settled, in my opinion-

4a) Erich and I are handling the Unrehearsal Dinner, so she can stop obsessing over it (we're having a BBQ at our house... housewarming for the relatives & relaxed afternoon in one).
4b) My relatives are accepting, in their own levels of acceptance, that we are not catering to their whims with our wedding vows. They can accept a Justice of the Peace ceremony, or they won't. The alternative is for us to NOT compromise out of respect for their religion, and go back to a handfasting. But that's what it is. Full stop.

5) I made my first dress fitting appointment.

6) I contacted vendors for my hair/spa day, flowers, and cakes. All still unresolved but in the works.

And for the non-wedding ones...

7) I wrote 1,500 words on my fanfic for a challenge due July 1st. The minimum wordcount is 1,000 words. That was never a problem. I'm probably about 1/2 done with the first draft. I hope to have it done within the next three days, give it a once-over myself for editing/reworking, and then send it to my beta editors.

8) I figured out what the weird triffyd plant is in our yard that has grown about 15 feet in two years (no. Really. - 2005 -