Sunday, February 25, 2007

Married!

The wedding was a total blast. It went by very quickly, like everyone said it would, but it was really, really wonderful to celebrate with so many people that we love.

Now, packing. Watching the Oscars red carpet. Trying to keep my eyes open. Our flight leaves at the butt crack of dawn and then....off to the beaches of Hawaii. We'll have a computer with us and I will try to post but I can't promise anything.

Gimp, you have no excuses :)

Meang--good luck on the bar!!!!!!!!!!! I have no doubt you'll rock the house, just like your husband did on the dance floor last night. Also, we love our new blue mugs :)

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Frenetic train of thought

Everyone told me that the week before the wedding would be insane and I didn’t believe them. How very wrong I was. We have a list of things to do on our coffee table and it just keeps growing, no matter how many things I cross off. I’ve been waking up at 3am worrying about parking of all things—what if people park in the wrong part of the garage and get locked in once it closes at 10pm??? How will the hotel let guests know that they can self-park in PART of this garage but not ALL of it (the other part belongs to the mall next door and that’s the part that closes). Then all I can think of is Mr. Henslowe from Shakespeare in Love saying, “It’ll all work out.” And I ask how and he says, “It’s a mystery!” It’s a sad state of affairs.

UPDATE--the garage closes at 1am on Saturdays. Hooray!

I’ve been pretty calm for the past 7 months, mostly because I’ve adopted an “I’ll avoid this so it doesn’t stress me out” approach but this week I’ve turned into the kind of wide-eyed, anxious, control freaky woman that cable TV makes shows about and it’s a little weird. I’ve watched my friends turn into this woman during the week before their weddings and it’s like aliens came down to earth and took over my friends’ bodies and now they’ve got me, too. The programs, they must be done exactly right. The papers have to coordinate. And I really, really need to just chill out but at this point I’m running on pure adrenaline and it feels like a freight train that can’t be stopped. A good train but an unstoppable one with lots of details that have to be taken care of or the whole thing could derail like there had just been a huge ice storm or something.

Yesterday I was standing in the changing room at Target (the new Proenza Schouler line is CUTE) and I made the mistake of looking at myself in the mirror sans clothes and literally burst into tears. Somehow other brides stress themselves down two sizes but me, I go on the stupid pill one month before my wedding and miraculously gain 10 pounds. I can see the 10 pounds—it’s there in the jiggly parts that didn’t used to be jiggly and even though I bought a new bikini for the honeymoon right now I am feeling that there is no way I will wear anything but a giant sack to the beach. Who sells Hawaiian beach sacks because I want several.

Thursday, February 15, 2007

La la la (fingers in ears)

After waking up to the sounds of sirens, screeching tires, and cars flailing their way out of icy berths, I made an executive decision to work from home today. Well, that wasn’t all of it. There was the fact that the pipes froze at some point during the night and they needed babysitting with the space heater and the hair dryer, too. But I’m trying to focus on the nice part about being able to stay inside all day.

Two weeks ago, dealing with frozen pipes by myself might have made me slightly hysterical but given the fact that the last 14 days have witnessed a litany of house upkeep issues that I’ve dealt with sans Lunchboy, it’s getting to be routine. For a while I was frustrated and angry about the fact that I was left here to deal with everything—drafty windows, broken heating, basement flooding, total cat insanity, all laundry, shopping, and every last minute wedding to-do (particularly thank you notes) by myself while he got to stay in cozy, heated hotels around the greater NYC/NJ area, but anger didn’t get me anywhere so I let it go. I’m still upset about the basement flooding last night that ruined a favourite (and expensively framed) poster that I brought back from my junior year abroad in Italy, though. I really loved that print.

Anyhoo. The decision to work from home was apparently a good one because when I tried to walk down to Subway at lunch, I discovered that the neighbourhood is pretty much unwalkable. Also, our garbage and recycling bins are frozen into place and I don’t think they’re going anywhere until spring.

Currently avoiding: seating chart, place cards, table names, printing the programs. I want one of those magical wedding planners from “Whose Wedding Is It Anyway,” which I have to stop watching or my brain might explode.

That said--9 days!!!!!!!!! WOOHOOO!!!!!

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

Coffee now!!!!

We decided to skip Valentine's Day this year and it's a huge relief. I hadn't realized how much pressure goes along with that holiday...well, that's not true. The shitty thing about Valentine's Day is how loaded it is with expectations. Too many expectations will wreck any situation and there's no way to avoid them in this case. Gifts, flowers, dinner, creative ways to express your affection--and it's all expected. Retch. Historically, Valentine's Day has not been my friend, except for the fact that it's Bligh's birthday (happy birthday, Bligh!) but it doesn't always get better when you have a significant other to celebrate with. After this, I might actually boycott Valentine's from here on out. I'd rather give a hug when it's least expected than when it's taken for granted, you know?

In two weeks, we'll be on the beach in Maui. Given how freaking cold it is outside, the existence of the beach seems almost dream-like. I lose circulation in my toes on the way to the bus in the morning and they don't get feeling back until after I've been parked in front of the space heater under my desk at work for a good 10 minutes. Gotta love Reynaud's syndrome. They actually turn white and go numb--it's the weirdest feeling.

Side note--the brain fuzzies are gone and so is Danger Week! Woo! I was a bit of a weepy puss this month but I'll take tears over irrational anger any day. Tears are cathartic, even when they come out of nowhere. The cats, however, are very perplexed. Why is mom so upset? I have to assure them that everything is fine, that I am not leaving their father, I am simply melting down over the complete lack of chocolate in the house. That and the fact that I'm going to sleep alone again for the umpteenth time. But bring me M&Ms and that'll make it better. They haven't made it to CVS yet, though.

Monday, February 12, 2007

Time keeps on ticking

12 days to go. How did that happen? I keep thinking, "Oh we can do that next weekend!" and then realizing that no, we can't. Because we'll be getting married and then collapsing from the sheer relief of no longer having to plan.

Hold on, hold on--it's less than two weeks til the wedding and the wedding is still on! Sweet! I think half the reason I've been a giant, walking anxiety attack is that part of my brain is waiting for the other shoe to drop, so whew. Take that, brain!

Needless to say, things have been busy. I keep meaning to post--in fact, I write posts and them email them to myself so I can blog at home, but then I get home, decide I hate what I wrote and hit delete. So here we are, weeks later and pas de posts. We had some layoffs at work, which is also why there has been a lot less posting. Fortunately I'm still employed and I would like to keep it that way, what with all the bills that are coming due and all. You can budget all you want for a wedding but in reality the budget goes out the window the closer you get to D Day. Really, what's $30 for a ring pillow when you've just racked up $2k in floral expenses? I fully expect a personally delivered holiday gift from American Express this year.


I miss Lunchboy. He's been home for roughly 12 hours in the past two weeks.