Hi Internets! *wave*

Well.. I'm back. For now, at least. The wedding is a mere 18 days away. Whoa. I can't believe our countdown is a) in the double digits, much less b) starting with the number one. (!!) I go from being beyond excited that It's here!! to being sick to my stomach that.... ohmygosh. people are going to come. what if they don't have a good time?! One thing's for sure. I know I am ready to marry this boy and start this new life together.

With the countdown dropping and my To Do List staring me in the face, I find myself trying to speed-learn adobe illustrator, bargain with Mark to add one more detail, tie a bow that doesn't look limp and lifeless and finally read the fine print on all our vendor contracts (what do you mean we can't bring our own chairs to the reception site?! [mini heart attack follows.]) I am putting out fires with some wacky small-town church ladies, making the trip to Hobby Lobby for the 14th time this week and waking up in the middle of the night thinking "what if the piano player doesn't know our version of this-and-that song?!?"

The closer it gets, the more surreal it feels. I'm used to going to other people's weddings. I can't even imagine what it's going to be like to be my wedding. Will everything get done between now and then? Probably not. But that's okay. Because even if every pew doesn't have a pomander on it, or if every table doesn't have a candle on it, or if every person doesn't leave with a program, at the end of the day, I'll still get to be a wife. A wife. Wow.

I Love the Smell of Fresh Ink in the Morning

The invitations are done! And they look so good! They are at Kinko's as we speak, where I am praying the nineteen year old kid wearing the polo behind and working the desk really did understand everything I explained to him about how to cut them. In two hours time, we should know.

Fingers crossed.

Kate, why do I love you so?

I'm on the quest for wedding dress shoes and, sadly, the only ones I am really liking are Kate Spade. I refuse to spend $300 on a pair of shoes I know I will likely wear only once (I just don't really need white heels). Where oh where can I get me some knockoff's or bargain Kates?!

sigh. double sigh.

Someone Shot the Cat

I heart him.

What I'm Eating (but totally shouldn't be).

Peanut M&M's, in Easter colors.

Sonic burger. And tots.

Chili's chips and salsa.

Snickerdoodles. Please note the plural.

all this is the past 48 hours. apparently i really don't want my dress to fit.

arghhhhh. motivation, where the heck are you?

Posting Once Every Month is Totally Okay...

1. Today my mom, aunt and I shopped for NINE hours. Nine. Hours. Straight. Ouch, my feet. They hurt. We were on a quest for a Mother of the Bride Dress. We had zero luck. We went to, in this order:

Stardust
Willow Bend (Neiman's, Saks, Ann Taylor Loft) (ok that last one was for me, not the MOB!)
Terry Costa
Lunch break at Chili's
Galleria (Neiman's, Saks, Macy's)
The store in Addison where I got my dress
BACK to Willow Bend for Macy's and Dillards
Michaels (for wedding crafty items)

Whew. We found NOTHING we liked. Not even one "maybe". It was disheartening and also exhausting!

2. Yesterday we got our very first wedding gift!! It showed up on Mark's doorstep, in all its Crate and Barrel glory.

3. So today I bought a big ol' stack of thank you cards.

4. Tomorrow we are crafting up some moss balls. Should be interesting!

5. The bridal diet is not going well. One great week is often followed up by 3 straight days or completely negating all that was good. Le sigh. Starting over tomorrow, again!

Listy, Version 3.0

Reading:
* Firefly Lane

Listening To:
* Touch My Hand, David Archuleta (love it.)
* Sweet and Low, Augustana (the acoustic version will melt your heart)
* Justin Bieber (yeah, I'm a thirteen year old girl on the inside)

Planning:
* My wedding invitations (yikes)
* Games for a friends' bette party in NOLA next month (new ideas, anyone out there?)
* Flights to St. Lucia (5 months and one week, not that I'm counting...)

Working On:
* Updating my school's Twitter account multiple times per day. How can anyone be creative that much?!
* Grandparent's Day (argh)

Overwhelmed By:
* Weddings. My own and all the others.

Looking Forward To:
* The Olympics! Weren't they just in Beijing like, yesterday??
* A belated Valentine's Day celebration
* Weddings. My own and all the others :)