That's all folks! The newlyweds are off to Hawaii.

Today is the Big Day. I'll be mobile blogging. Stay tuned.

If they could see me now

No pictures today. I'm sitting here half dressed waiting for my self-tanner to dry with white strips on my teeth. The glamorous life of a bride-to-be 40-ish hours before her wedding.

It's been a busy two days off work. The programs are mostly printed (I think we'll do a few more but one of the ink cartridges ran out this afternoon. Well one ran out yesterday too, but we got another one already.) Thanks to Deanna for all her help!! The main level of the house is mostly ready for the bridesmaids to come on Saturday.

We also had the flower girl's 3rd birthday party today, which we made a brief pass through and shared some cake. And then we went to dinner with some of the first guests to arrive, my aunts, uncle and cousins from California. I got to meet the newest Kelley - Brandon.

But, I still need to do a decent cleaning job on the bathroom, and straighten my bedroom at minimum, as well as do all the packing for Hawaii. I'm a known procrastinating packer.

When my dad is going somewhere on say Friday, he starts packing on Monday, and has his suitcase ready and zipped about 24 hours before he leaves. I tend to start packing the wee hours of the night before a trip. It's bad. I still plan to do a little tonight, but, it is the wee hours, though it is not the night before.

The fact that when I leave for the church, everything has to be packed for Hawaii is a tough one. I'm going to have like at least 4 bags - the big suitcase for Hawaii, a small overnight bag for the hotel after the reception and clothes for the next morning, a bag with last minute stuff, like makeup and curling iron, and a carry-on bag. Plus I may have a reception bag with like my flip flops and stuff. Crazy. At least all the laundry is finished.

Tomorrow is nails at 12:15 (OK, it's really today since it is post midnight). The rehearsal is at 5 p.m. I'm not sure how I'm going to fit all this in, but I'll make it happen and hopefully will get a little sleep.

OK, off to do a little packing.

If I don't get another post in before the wedding, thanks for reading and I'll be back on July 10. Hopefully one of the guest bloggers will fill in the details in the meantime.

Last day working

Well, I'm still at work with a few more things to do, but once I leave I'm off until July 10 (my longest time away from work ever in 9 years of full-time work). I'll still post a few more times before the wedding.

But, I have decided, I will not take my laptop to Hawaii with me. There may be some guest bloggers giving their take on the wedding and reception. But, you may not get my story until I return - unless we happen on a computer in Hawaii, and then maybe I'll pop in and say hi!

Last night John and I met with our musicians: an organist/pianist who was recommended to us, John's sister-in-law, Sarah, and two of our friends, Deanna and Bill. We answered a few questions and listened to them. We also got asked about who was going to run the sound board. Well, no one had ever mentioned THAT before. I didn't know someone had to run the sound board. So that is still up in the air as I wait to hear back from the wedding coordinator.

Funny story: I had sent the O/P a list of all the music we wanted, including numbers of the songs in the hymnal we use at church. However when she went to play one of the songs, she thought we wanted Servant Song, while really we wanted The Servant Song. I am so glad we were there, because I really don't know Servant Song at all. The funny part? This actually happened at my friend Katie B's wedding. (OK, KMB, I know it wasn't funny to you.) During the wedding, the musicians played the wrong song, even though the right number was in the program and everything. Katie and I joke sometimes about the quirky things we have in common, but (sorry Katie) I'm going to have to say I'm glad that this won't be something we'll be sharing!

The rest of the night was a blur of phone calls and emails with last minute details - DJ, babysitter, readers, etc. It has continued today as we had another person back out and a few who aren't sure if they can come due to unfortunate situations. We'll still have more than 200 guests, and my thoughts and prayers go out to those who are having a difficult week.

Tonight we have to finish the program, as Deanna is going to come over tomorrow to help print and fold them (THANKS!). I have a few other things to get done as well. I'm extremely glad I took 3 days off this week. I am going to advise any brides-to-be to do that as well. No matter how well you plan, you will want those days! (Heck, I could have used today too.)

Everything is getting so close, and I just pray I get finished what I need to.

PSA break

Last year, I blogged about my mission trip experience in Harlan.

This year, I had to pass on the trip because it returned about 4 hours before my wedding. (Although that was not seen as an obstacle to some people who tried to convince me to go!)

So yes, the trip is now, and it has a new blog. Say hi to some of the members of my favorite youth group (the same ones who threw us the shower) here.

We will soon return to our regularly scheduled wedding programming.

Stay! Just like that.

Much better.




And you know what else? Somehow I did not know that there was a blue moon this month, the day we get married. I just found out today, because of this, which I will unfortunately have to miss.

Lucky for us! Our wedding is a special occasion indeed :)

ONE WEEK TO GO. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

So, yikes, we only have one week to go. The time has been flying. While I feel pretty good about where we are, by no means is everything "ready." (And yes, people are still asking that. I'll tell you when everything will be ready. When it happens:) )

This weekend we/I need to

* Make the programs (which entails buying more ink for the printer, which never did run out when we ran the invitation inserts, but is now telling me it needs more "yellow.")

* Buy some flip-flops to wear later on at the reception (shoulda bought the ones I saw two months ago, but I thought "I have time.")

* Finalize seating plan and double check the spelling of names. We've been working on this, but had three people back out yesterday due to last-minute conflicts. My dad is making table numbers and placecards. Thanks Dad!

* Finalize other details and email appropriate vendors (DJ, photographer, etc.)

* Meet with the priest for the pre-rehearsal on Sunday. So we know what's going on before 40 other people are there with their opinions.

I'm sure there's more.

Tomorrow is John's bachelor party. Well, they're playing golf and having lunch or something. So my mom is coming down to help with things wedding and house-related. The house is still a bit of an obstacle course with John's stuff that's been moved in. And there will be a bridesmaids' lunch there the day of the wedding. So, you know, people might want to sit on something other than a box.

I'm sure we'll both manage to keep ourselves busy. I am only working Monday and Tuesday, so I will have time Wednesday and Thursday, but I don't want to leave too much stuff undone. Otherwise I'll be up all night! And that does not a happy bride make.



Enjoy your weekend!

Photography

So inbetwixt the AC drama and the weather, I haven't yet posted about our meeting with the photographer on Tuesday night.

All went well and I anticipate the photos being lovely - no matter the weather.

But that reminds me of a good point. I have been adamant from the beginning that I want classy/classical photography from the wedding. I want these to be pictures we can show our children, and grandchildren, hopefully. Now, sure, guests can take candid snapshots and give us doubles (thanks!), but for the paid photographer, I want just nice shots. I will not pose with the bridesmaids while doing a kick line. I don't want one of the groomsmen leering at me. And while I've seen lovely shots of wedding parties at parks or with the Ohio River as a backdrop, it's just not worth the time for me to drag 12 people all over town to get the same shot of us smiling in front of a half dozen local landmarks. There are some lovely well landscaped areas right by the church, and that will be fine (assuming it's not raining). If it rains, well, the shots in the church will be beautiful as well.

I think the photog got what we were talking about, and I think he'll pose us appropriately and in classy ways.

And in 10 or 25 years, will people probably laugh when they see our classic photography? Sure. The clothing and hair will probably seem hilarious, but at least they won't ask "What are you doing in that photo?"

Lucky or all wet?

I can see I might become a little fixated on the Weather Channel over the next 8 days. I know rain is supposed to bring luck, but I'm really hoping it stays dry for our wedding.

The good news today? We have a brand new air conditioner, and we don't have to pay for it until we come back from our honeymoon. I have an odd habit of naming inanimate objects that I spend lots of money on. (My car is Viola the Corolla, my laptop is T.R. - Tax Refund). I think I shall name the air conditioner Clover. For one thing, it is surrounded by clovers, and for another, its predecessor went out 13 days before the wedding, so I'm hoping it will be a more "lucky" kinda appliance.

Getting my hair done

I love Photoshop. This is me getting my trial hairdo, but I have blurred it out so you can't tell exactly what the style looks like. I've told everyone it will be part up and part down. But beyond that, I wouldn't want to give the surprise away!

Thanks Anne H., for taking the fun pictures!

Congrats to Matt and Callie!

Callie and Matt, friends of ours, were married Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, with a lovely reception on Callie's family farm.


The next wedding we attend will be ours. When Callie started walking in to the church, my heart skipped a beat. Two weeks past that and it will be my turn.

They are returning from their honeymoon the week of our wedding and will be in attendance. So my P.S. on their wedding card?

"See you on the flip side!"

Hehe.

RIP AC

Farewell oh cooler of my home

I know this is BrideBlog, but my mind is currently preoccupied with something else.

The air conditioner, which lived a long and well-loved life, has gone to the big cold place in the sky. It's estimated age is 30. It looks like a canned ham.

I came home today at about 8:30 p.m. I had left all FOUR ceiling fans on and no lights on when I departed 12 hours prior. The AC was set to be at 78 when I got home. It was 87 in here. That is quite warm. A check of the not-cold air coming out of the vents confirmed my fear. The AC was no longer. I had been expecting this for the exactly five years I've owned this house.

But I was not expecting it 12 days before I got married.

When the house is in such a state of chaos that there is a TV in the middle of the floor, a set of shelves on the couch and drawers that supposedly hold "workout clothes" at home in the living room. When there are two microwaves in the kitchen, and about 5 laundry baskets full of clothes on every floor of the house. And the idea of moving anything in this heat? Even 4"? Yeah, you break a sweat. I broke a sweat cutting up strawberries. And I'm wearing only old shorts with monkeys on them and a sports bra. (hey, it's not like I'm in public!)

We've opened the windows. Despite the screens, I have killed no fewer than six - make that seven - bugs while typing this (they must be attracted to the screen - they keep flying into it.)

So we've called some HVAC people (what's that stand for anyway? Hot vithout air conditioning?). We'll be getting some bids. But do you know how much central air costs? I sure didn't. It's multiple thousands of dollars. And we had some other plans for that money.

It's called OUR HONEYMOON.

Dress fitting drama

I should've posted Friday, but well, the day got away from me. Then 3 people asked me over the weekend how the dress-fitting went. So I figured I'd put something up today.

When my mom and I got there, the seamstress explained that the dress had been made with the hem ONE-INCH shorter on one side than the other. So when she went to hem she got worried that something was wrong and so didn't finish it off (especially since I'd told her that one of my legs is 1/4" longer than the other. And one of my shoulders is higher.) That caused a little bit of alarm, because I expected to have a basically ready dress. Instead, I had a cut-off edge and straps only sewn on in the front. She had hemmed the underneath 2 layers, but not the outer 2 layers.

So she measured, and pinned, and we looked in the mirror, and my mom looked at me, and we made sure the top was even. And the bottom was even. And I could lift my arms. And dance. So I hope when I go pick it up next week - all pressed and ready - that the length is even and hitting the top of my toes. Because my toes definitely show. I don't know how many times people have told me that my feet/toenails/shoes won't show. Oh, they'll show. No doubt about it.

The borrowed veil and borrowed headpiece work with the dress, so I am happy with those budget purchases (free!). I have decided to wear some jewelry with a history, so that will be part of my something old. I put all of the accessories on and looked in the mirror and looked very bridal - except for the frayed hem.

Next week, it will all be very real. I can't believe it's next week already! The nerves are starting to get to me, in answer to the dozen people who asked me that this weekend (I was at a wedding; go figure.)

I'll do a couple more posts soon on the hair trial and the fun Saturday at our friends' wedding. And maybe one on John's move. And the fact that my house was 85 degrees at midnight last night. Stay tuned ...

Back to happiness!

OK, that last post was a downer. So here are some happy things!

* Tonight I go back for my fitting, and I'm taking jewelry, shoes, veil, headpiece waist cincher and more to try it all on to see how it looks together. Then I'll leave it there so it doesn't get damaged with the drywalling and sanding going on at home ...

* Speaking of, my dad and a knowledgeable construction person have finished the new closet for John's clothes. Finished is a relative term, but it's usable! Yay! Thanks!

* Tomorrow is hair trial day. My friend Anne is coming with to help me decide what to do. So that'll be fun!

* This weekend, we are going to a wedding! I feel like I should take a notebook and write down things I've forgotten about or want to do. I hope we're able to enjoy it and not spend the whole time stressing about our own wedding!

Unexpected reality

Emotions can be all over the place while planning a wedding. While it's stressful, it's generally a very happy time. People are wishing you well all over the place. You get excited telling friends and family of fun details about the day. You get beautiful gifts, are amazed at how generous people are and are grateful to have so many wonderful people a part of you and your fiance's lives.

While I expected the stress, the glee, the excitement, a tinge of frustration, and a little bit of worry, there's an emotion I didn't really expect that has hit home a few times.

Ladies (probably not most guys!), if you're like most, you've imagined things about your wedding since you were playing dress up wedding with your mom's old formals or having Malibu Barbie marry Ken for the 38th time while Skipper, Christie and Whitney stood by as bridesmaids in mismatched shoes, hats and bikini tops with skirts.

While yes the details have changed throughout the years - "I want to get married on a cloud in Care-a-lot and serve sundaes, and everyone will wear roller skates. And we'll all hold hands and sing 'That's what Friends are for'" - certain things stay near and dear to your heart.

You want to be surrounded by your whole family and all your closest friends. You see yourself walking down the aisle and thinking of memories with so many of the people in the pews, going back to childhood. Well, if you're me you do. And when circumstances affect this dream, there's just one word to describe that emotion:

Sad.

I never expected to have sad thoughts about my wedding day. But, unfortunately, just a little bit, I have.

I want to be quick to say that by no means do I think I am somehow "unlucky" or that other people don't have far more reasons to have sad feelings than I do. We are overjoyed that we will be surrounded by all our parents and all our siblings and about 200 of our closest friends and relatives. While we - and many others - also remember those who are no longer with us, that is not directly the reason for my feelings.

It more pertains to that I will be missing those who are unable to make it for a variety of reasons. My Grandma, who is nearly 90, decided last month that she just couldn't travel across the country. I have a friend who has to go to China for work that week. And one of my oldest friends called last night and said because of a job change in her family, she could not travel here for the wedding. I just have not been imagining my wedding without my Grandma, my friend since first grade, several college friends and a few cousins.

I have traveled across the country to go to weddings. In fact, I was thinking about it and can only think of 3 "no" RSVP cards I have ever sent back - one to a childhood friend who got married during my college exams, one to the daughter of a former coworker (who I'd never met, didn't know was getting married until I got the invitation, and was getting married a day I was going to be in Detroit), and one just last month to a relative of John's I had met once because we just didn't think we could be out of town for that long so close to our wedding. I like being there for friends' and family members' special days. I've even twice been to two weddings in one weekend (once they were 9 hours from each other, with one 23 hours before the other!) But I don't yet have kids, am financially secure enough to do a little traveling, am in good health and rarely have to go farther than West Chester for this job.

I feel bad even saying this because those who can't come could take it as if it is their "fault." Or that I am somehow "angry" with them. But I don't want that! I'm not angry or blaming anyone for my feelings. Their reasons are more than valid, and no matter how important our wedding is to ME, it is certainly not the center of anyone else's life (um, except John's!)!

But you can't help your feelings, right?

A few weeks ago, I was talking with a friend getting married this fall about how I sometimes feel sad when a No RSVP card comes back, and she said "Oh, I never thought about that!" I thought maybe it was important to write about it. So that others might not be so surprised if they feel this way.

I wish to those who are still unmarried that ALL your family and loved ones will be able to share your wedding day with you. But if someone can't, know they are with you in spirit, be OK with having a "sad" moment, and then, as John so helpfully tried to tell my pretty emotional self last night, "think of all the people who love you who WILL be there." (OK, I didn't take that so well last night, but I slept on it, and now I think it's a pretty good mantra.)

So I go forward happy, stressed, ecstatic, overjoyed, emotional and a tiny bit sad. To family and friends who are coming from far and near, I can't wait to see you and share our exciting day. To those who can't make it, you will be thought of and very much missed!

(I hope this didn't offend anyone or sound too whiny. Just being honest!)

Spicing things Up

The spices cabinet with John's four bags of spices/baking ingredients on the counter.

Ha!

You have to take that literally.

We're working on combining households. And aside from a couple gallons worth of rice and about 10 half-eaten boxes of cereal, we have A LOT of spices.

You know, you buy that weird spice - marjoram or lemon pepper - for the recipe that calls for 1/8 teaspoon, and then it sits in the cupboard for the better part of a decade. (Thankfully I no longer have anything that is Schnuck's brand, so you can't prove that any of my stuff is more than 9 years old.) Do spices go bad? I mean some of them have a "Best by" date on the bottom. But I figure they're pretty hearty.

So my cabinet where I keep spices is already tightly packed. And John brought over bags and bags of spices and baking necessities (flour, cornmeal, 3 other kinds of flour ... "You can't put all the flour in the canister. That's bread flour." Um, sorry.)

The contents of two of the bags. Sorta blurry. I need to stop taking pictures with my computer screen, I suppose.

The solution? "Let's register for a spice rack."

To the computer I go. I try Place We Registered #1. 12 spice racks come up. Big spice racks, little spice racks, round spice racks, mountable spice racks. But they all have one characteristic in common.

They all come FULL of !@$% spices!

If there's something we don't need it is any more spices. We have duplicate and triplicate of spices. We could make enough cinnamon rolls to line them up from Oakley to Mt. Lookout and STILL have plenty of cinnamon.

So we check PWR#2. Same result. And #3: Ditto.

I am flustered. Doesn't anyplace carry spice racks SANS spices? The hunt begins.

Voila. We found one. Our new nifty spice "stack" that claims to hold 60 spices (hmmm. We'll see about that.) should arrive by the end of the week. I hated spending the money, but it's worth it to clear up the mess on the counter.

Responses

Our deadline for response cards was Saturday. I believe we had 34 maybe that hadn't come in. That isn't too bad out of 161. And of the missing ones, there were several who had emailed or called that they were coming and had forgotten.

"My" list had 8 non-respondents. 2 had been in touch saying they were coming (one had had an emergency appendectomy and found the unmailed card after being "slightly" under the weather for 10 days; the other was trying to figure out how to get here from Kansas City and if she'd be bringing a guest.) Of the other 6, I emailed them late that night. I got two no responses pretty quickly via e-mail. One said the mail monster must've eaten the card because she had mailed it 2 weeks ago. The other said no excuse - he just forgot! I got a yes in person yesterday and a yes via email today. Another we got the reply card today (yes). So there is ONE straggler on my list, and then I can start with table seatings! Well, John has four stragglers, and we will probably have one or two "crossover" tables with our lists - as well as crossover with our parents' lists. We got two other cards in the mail today, and I will probably find out later from my mom whom she has verbally contacted.

But from what I hear, we are doing better than many at this point, so I am happy about that.

19 days to go!

"June 23 Bride" found

From here

But as I was walking out, a brideblog reader who was walking in recognized me. Sorry, June 23 bride, I didn't catch your name, but thank you for reading! If you send me an email telling me where you saw me, I'll send you some CiN Weekly gear for being the first person I didn't know to say hi and tell me you read the blog. I started laughing as I got to my car too, because I realized I was wearing the same shirt today as I have on in the picture over to the right.

Thanks for reading Angela from Hyde Park! Congrats on your upcoming marriage to Mike, and good luck with your move to your new home in Loveland.

... Oh, and I really need to update my wardrobe. I just started laughing again, because AGAIN I am wearing the pink shirt.

Oh yeah. Guess we need a car.

Not what we'll be driving in Hawaii, unfortunately.

So I'm at that point where I tend to flit around with random tasks that need to be done. Obviously the big stuff is mostly taken care of. But I'll just be sitting at my desk, or brushing my teeth, or having a conversation and something will trigger a thought:

"Ohmygod, we need to do xyz."

That happened the other day. Someone asked about the honeymoon and I was talking about Hawaii, and was like: "We never got a rental car." It was one of those things that had sort of slipped through the cracks. So last night we hit up the name-your-own price site and tried to name our own cheap price for rental cars.

Let me just say, it pretty much laughs at you if you try to get a convertible for $20 a day in Hawaii.

"A good price would be $60." Comes the response. "None of our partners are likely to accept that price." So we change it, and fiddle around, etc. etc.

Final result: No convertible for us. But that's fine by me. I'm not really a convertible person. I have some bad memories of cruising Middletown in the backseat of a convertible with my hair blowing around and sticking to my lip gloss.

The upside is, for one of our islands, the NYOP web site did accept our bid for a full-size car at a lower rate than we could find on other Web sites. For the other island, the site denied several of our bids enough times that we couldn't change anything more. So we went for a still-decent price on another discount site.

I guess I shouldn't have been so concerned. I really thought rental car rates would be high in Hawaii (I've heard the stories about the price of milk and bread.) But really, the rates weren't that much more than they were when we rented a car in South Dakota. Maybe procrastinating worked in our favor?

Ohmygod. We still need to book that bike down the mountain excursion.

Guess what we're doing this weekend?

Becoming Irrational: I will answer that question again in mid-July

This one is for anyone who's ever been a bride ...

You know how busy and stressed you get with, say 24 days left until your wedding? Picture yourself in that mode.

John (at 8:45 p.m. after we met with the DJ last night): So, what're we doing for dinner?

(So I could've said "I don't know." Or "leftovers." Or "What do you want?")

Instead, I became a tiny bit of bridezilla ...

Me: I am not answering that question any more. I have too much to do. I have to think of all these things we didn't know for the DJ, the house is a mess with things all over the place. I do not have time to think about dinner. I know, you need your dinner, and that's fine. But I'm done. I'm not having a say on dinner until we get back from the honeymoon. I cannot add that stress to my life. Either you can make something, or I will forage. I'm perfectly fine foraging.

John: But you don't have any food at your house.

Me: I do so have food at my house. Just not the food you want. I have lots of bagels.

John: Uh ... how about the leftover cabbage rolls?

Me: No. I had those for lunch today. And yesterday. I don't want them anymore. You can have them. I'll have a bagel.

John: I need to stop by the store to get *

Me: Oh, well if you're going to the store, why don't we have paninis?

John: Do you have bread?

Me: No, but you're going to the store ...

John: OK, I'll get something.

Fast forward to 9:15ish. I'm on the phone when John walks in with a grocery bag.

John: Where's that can of tomatoes that I brought over yesterday?

Me: (mouthing) I don't know. I didn't touch them.

John: But they were on the counter in a M---- bag.

Me: (Hold on, Mom) I don't know where the tomatoes are. Were they in the bag with your shirt? I did move that out of the kitchen. (to Mom: We can't find tomatoes.)

John: No, they were in a M----- ba - oh wait, here they are on the floor in a T----- J-- bag.

Me: (to Mom) OK, tomatoes found.

Fast forward again when I get off the phone.

Me: Wait, what are we having? What are you doing with tomatoes?

John: Chicken.

Me: I thought were were going to have paninis. Isn't it going to take awhile to make this?

John: It's faster than paninis.

Me: Um, OK.

Fast forward to the 10 o'clock hour, when we eat. After all my whining, bridezilla behavior, I end up with way more than I deserve: chicken cacciatore over rice with a side of green beans.

Not only is John an excellent cook, but he also wants me to have more than night after night of "I'm-too-tired-to-cook-so-I'll-eat-a-bagel."

I shall mend my ways. I shall squash bridezilla when she rears her ugly head. I shall not go off on innocent questions. I shall cook more. I shall have ideas. I shall not complain about food.

And I shall do all that in mid-July. Because I know John understands - and he knows I have a lot going on.

Am I lucky or what?


* I honestly can't remember why he had to stop by the store.

Shower Fun

Flower girl Maria (who turns 3 two days before our wedding!) got to hang out with us at the shower for awhile - until naptime. She gave me some pretty soap that smelled really good. Thanks, Maria!

Saturday was my final shower - 4 total including the surprise one the kids threw us! It was thrown by family friends of John -- Annie and Ruthann. Thank you, ladies, for a fabulous time! Guests included many of John's relatives, family friends and my mom. I hope you all enjoyed your day!

We started with a beautifully prepared lunch of chicken salad surrounded by fruit. That was followed by ice cream and cookies. Can't go wrong with ice cream!

After that I opened gift after gift of wonderful presents. I know several of the attendees read this blog, so thank you all for the gifts! Your thank you notes will be in the mail soon! We are excited to cook up a storm with our new cookbooks and kitchen items, and our bathroom will look great with new towels. And the new hamper? Already put together and in use! Again, I'm overwhelmed with the thoughtfulness of everyone.

New mom Laura (can you believe she had a baby 18 days before this picture was taken?) and terrific hostess Annie.

The other terrific hostess Ruthann, along with guests Kathy, Marguerite and Sarah (mom to Maria).

Following the gift opening, it was time for games! The first game we were set to play was bridal bingo. For that game everyone gets a card with wedding related words on it (gown, groom, bouquet, etc.) and then like typical bingo, you want to cross off all words in a row to win. But there was a problem, discovered by John's sister Anne. Apparently the game had gone missing, but someone had the brilliant idea to photocopy one of the sheets. Unfortunately, that meant we all had identical boards and would all get BINGO at the same time ... so that game came to an end before it started. And as we all had a laugh, John's mom said "Katie, you have my permission to blog about this." So there you go!

Instead, we played a game to see how many words you could make out of letters in my full name to be, which has 25 letters, in 5 minutes. It was a challenge I was up for: It's my name, and I loooove word games (almost as much as spelling). So of course I had the most words, I mean it is MY name:) I deferred the prizes to others. Anne had the longest word - 10 letters, I think - though I can't remember what it is. I will have to check!

**Update 12:52 p.m. Thursday: The word was chandelier. Thanks for remembering, Mom. **

I also got to meet my new nephew-to-be Nathaniel. He was the only boy allowed at the shower post-lunch (John, his two brothers and his nephew Sammy came to the lunch part). He was very good and will have no memory of going to a bridal shower. But I'll remind him!

John's sister Anne and mom, Kathy. Kathy is holding the bow bouquet she made for our rehearsal!

After a very full afternoon, we headed out with a car full of gifts, which I got to share with John later on. We're still trying to find new homes for some of them, so no one is allowed to visit the house in the near future as you might trip over something.

Fortunately, when I get home today, there will be new shelves in the basement perfect for storage. Thank you, Dad, for spending the day at my house putting in shelves. It is a priceless gift! Your packrat daughter is ever grateful.

Snippets of not-so-nice conversations

Scene: Checkout line. I have a cute purple and white polka dot bikini I picked out for my Hawaii honeymoon. I am very excited that the bathing suit hunting is over. Nearby, a young girl is acting quite cranky and running away from her mother.

Cashier: If I were that mom, I would be doing something else with that kid. I mean, not spanking her, but she needs discipline.

Me: Hmmm.

Cashier: You know what I mean? Not that I have kids.

Me: No, I don't either yet, but I don't like to be judgmental about parents because I don't know what it's like to be a parent yet.

Cashier: Are you pregnant?

Me: No! (First thought: Really? All I just bought was a bikini. Would I buy a bikini if I were pregnant? I guess some people do. Second thought: Oh my gosh, do I look pregnant? Is it the clothes? Am I going to fit in my wedding dress?)

***

Scene: Having a discussion about my style of wedding dress with another person.

Acquaintance (after seeing the dress): I like it!

Me: I just wanted something simple. I'm not into all poufy and big. I mean if other people want that, that's fine. But I'm 31 (yes, I'll admit my age!) so I'm sort of over the whole Disney princess thing.

Acquaintance: Is this your first marriage?

Me: (indignant) Yes!

Acquaintance: That's great, at 31.

Me: (Thinking: How rude! Am I an old maid? 31 isn't THAT old, is it? Isn't the average marriage age for college graduate women like 29? I've been to lots of first weddings where the bride is older than 31.)

I guess I should add these to things not to say to a bride a month before her wedding. Because in addition to all the stuff I've been worrying about, now I have to worry about looking pregnant. And old.

A June Bride ...

... Yep, that's me! It's June! I'm getting married this month!

Yes, I know, it's the very end of the month, when the month will only have 7 hours left, but nonetheless...

Crazy.

I have managed to book the vast majority of the month up with pre-wedding activities and appointments, from hair styling, to DJ meeting to dress fitting to everything else. But I am confident. I will not lose (too much) sleep or be too frantic. If I just keep up this pace, we'll be ready with smiles on our faces on June 30.

Or maybe it's just because it's Friday and I'm in a good mood. We do have a lot to do, including moving John in - and attending Callie and Matt's wedding two weeks before our own. It won't be an easy month, but it will be a wonderful one, ending with our marriage. And then, a mere 13 hours after July starts, we will hop on a plane for Hawaii.

July. That will be the fun month!

Not-so-lucky bride-to-be

Oh. Wow. Whoops.

Note to self: Pay up tickets and quit drug habit.

(Joke. It's a joke.)