So I just realized I've been home over a week and still have not posted about our little trip to the Jersey Shore. We stayed in a little B&B called Angel of the Sea in Cape May, NJ. We got one of the suites. They're more expensive during the high season, but during the off season, we stayed two nights and got a third night free. We took our time driving down there on Sunday after the wedding. When we checked in, Mr. Scientist had secretly upgraded our package to celebrate our wedding, and we received a chilled bottle of champagne on arrival and found a long-stemmed red rose in our room. Our room also had a gas fireplace.

The house was an old Victorian house, actually two, connected by a huge, wraparound porch. As such, the place was very drafty, and there were space heaters everywhere, including in our room, which I wasn't thrilled about having to leave on while we slept, but we tried it without the first night and absolutely froze. I had never been to a B&B before, Mr. Scientist had, and honestly, while I had a wonderful time with him on our trip, I would not stay at one again. Our room had a claw foot tub and was really high to get in and out of, and there was no lip on the tub to put down your shampoo bottle or your razor. The room was so dusty/musty when we checked in that I could feel my chest tighten in an allergic-asthmatic reaction. We immediately opened all the windows and it did get better. Mr. Scientist was ready to cancel our reservation and find a hotel if it didn't. And breakfast in the morning was in the little dining room with four tables and therefore we were forced to sit with strangers every morning and make small talk. Mr. Scientist thought I, being outgoing, would have no problem with that, and when people would ask us questions, preferring to drink my coffee or eat my breakfast while it was still hot, I would say nothing, expecting him to come forth and he hardly ever did. No, I don't mind talking to people, but not first thing in the morning when I have no makeup on cuz I had to rush down here to have breakfast between 8:30 and 9:30, and NOT when I still have not yet had my coffee!

That aside, we had fun. Cape May is booming during the summer months, but in November it is pretty dead. On the first day, we went down to the beach and took a long walk, all bundled up. The weather was beautiful but it was a little chilly when the wind blew. We then went to a pedestrian mall and bought souvenirs (a newlywed xmas tree ornament, a magnet, a xmas toy for my dog) and books to read later and went back to the B&B. At 4:00, the B&B had tea and snacks, at 5:30 they had wine and cheese. We went back at 4:00 and hung out in the parlor playing Scrabble til wine and cheese was served and then a little longer cuz we've discovered we both like playing Scrabble. We went to a sushi place and then called it a night.

The second day, we went on a trolley tour that pointed out all the historic homes in the area and basically told the story of the town. After that, it took us on a tour of an old estate owned in the 1800s by a wealthy family. We then went to another beach and saw the Cape May Lighthouse before heading back for wine and cheese and Scrabble.

The third day, we left and headed about 45 min north to Atlantic City. We walked on the boardwalk, popped into several of the casinos and then drove down the road a bit to the Borgata. We didn't have a reservation but figured we'd have no problem getting a room on a Wed afternoon in November, and we were right. Once there, we made a reservation at one of the casino's nicer restaurants, a wine bistro, for our big dinner out on that trip. We dressed up and had the place practically to ourselves. The place had over 1,000 types of wine, and as such, we had to go down 3 flights of stairs to get to our table. It was really very exclusive feeling and both the wine and the food were fabulous. I had a merlot, of course, actually two, while Mr. Scientist had a reisling. After dinner, we headed back up to the casino for more playing, where I won $150 in the course of about an hour. By that point, I'd pretty much won back whatever I'd lost and maybe made a little more, but it was a great night. We headed back to Long Island on Thursday.

The weirdest thing happened while we were in Cape May, though. The room we stayed in had a CD player alarm clock, and Mr. Scientist pushed play to see what CD was in it. Immediately, Pachelbel's Canon began to play, which was the song everyone in our wedding except me walked down the aisle to. It caught us both off guard and was quite touching, yet unexpected. Later that day, as we sat in the parlor playing Scrabble, the innkeepers turned on the piped-in stereo music. They had a classical CD playing, which we immediately recognized as Vivaldi's Four Seasons, and soon enough, the Autumn movement began to play, which was the song we chose as our recessional! The next day, while we were waiting to board the trolley, we poked around in a Thomas Kinkade gallery. While we were in there, a song began to play over their music system...I grabbed Mr. Scientist. "Listen! Do you hear that?" He listened for a moment before he realized what was playing....Somewhere In Time..our sand ceremony song, which you practically NEVER hear as it is from a movie made in the late 1970s! I don't know what/who was behind all of our wedding songs following us, but it was really the perfect detail of our mini-moon! :)

On Friday of our vacation, we contacted a travel agent Mr. Scientist's doctor recommended to us. Apparently, the travel agent is convinced the doctor saved his life cuz he heard something in his heart during a physical, sent him to the hospital and the man had bypass surgery the following day, at least that's what he told Mr. Scientist when he called him. So, since we were recommended by the dr, the travel agent is going to "hook us up" and has already sent us two brochures for European cruises, which we are looking to take later in 2009. He will send us some more as they come in, and then we have to make an appt to meet with him and see what he can offer us for our REAL honeymoon. :)

Yes, I know this blog has been long-awaited. It's hard to blog when your husband goes to Best Buy and buys Fallout 3 and spends six hours playing it on Sat afternoon, no I'm not kidding. But he folded all the laundry today and helped with the dishes after dinner, so he's forgiven.

Some of you have seen some of the unofficial wedding photos that have been trickling in. The major sources have been my Aunt Eileen and my Matron of Honor, Beth. (she has an album of the wedding if you haven't seen it, click over to her page)
Before I talk about the wedding, I want to air my one complaint. The old people in the room who weren't dancing complained to the Maitre D when we first got in the room that it was too cold, therefore they shut off the AC. I was all over the place in that room and it got so hot in there for me I was sweating to death and had to go outside and cool off. The Maitre D noticed right away that Mr. Scientist and I had disappeared and came out to see if everything was OK and then told me he'd shut off the AC and would turn it back on immediately, which he did, but the damage had already been done to my hair. So for 99% of my important photos...dancing with my brother, cutting the cake, etc. my bangs are a curly mess and my makeup is all shiny cuz I never even thought to go in the bathroom to check what I looked like. I know it sounds vain, but I'm a little annoyed we weren't asked before they just shut the AC off, as well as that my bridal attendant never said to me that I might want to go look in the mirror. I paid a lot of money for my hair and makeup and they were pretty well wrecked an hour into the reception. OK, vent over.

The wedding went just as I wanted it to. Everyone showed up on time and everyone did what they were supposed to do. And Mr. Scientist said the same thing as me...that while he was getting ready, he looked around and saw some of the people who are closest to him there to support him and genuinely happy for him and it was just such a wonderful feeling. We felt so appreciative and so amazed at the kindness of everyone. My girls kept my mind occupied with chit chat as we got ready and munched on room service-ordered chicken fingers and french fries until all of our makeup was done and it was time to get in our dresses. My friend Meg, who had come with me to the bridal shop to learn how to tie my dress in the back, took over the dressing from my wedding planners and did a fabulous job. The photographer arrived as we were finishing up and then the evening just took off.

We took pictures in my mom's hotel room where we got ready. We went down to the 2nd floor and took pictures in front of the fireplace. We went down to the lobby and took pictures there. And then it was time to walk next door to the Fox Hollow! My bridal attendant assigned to me, Annmarie, was very calming and just chatted with me about it being good the rain had stopped as we walked over the sidewalk to the hall. She took me upstairs as the photographer went to take pictures of the guys and brought me and the girls and my mom into our bridal suite. She brought us drinks (white wine for me in case I spilled it) and munchies and then she took everyone but me downstairs to practice the ceremony with my officiant, Father David. One of my wedding planners (there were two who worked together), Angela, was sitting with me while it was quiet, and I just reflected on the fact that I was getting married in about an hour! They all returned from their rehearsal telling me how hot both my groom and my brother looked in their tuxes (is that a good thing to hear my brother looked hot?LOL) and then Father David came up to see me and go over any last minute questions I may have. OMG this is real now!

I showed him a little angel Deanna's mom had made for me with our birthstones on it. I had it worked into my bouquet (pink roses with little fiber optic lights!) and he was just so touched by it. He went to see Mr. Scientist after that and said to him "I was just talking to Deanna" and then paused and corrected himself. He then told him about the flowers and that he was still touched.

In what seemed like an instant, they took everyone away to line up for the ceremony and then brought me down. Annmarie stalled me by taking me into the cocktail hour room to see where everything had been set up. We were standing by the  martini bar when I heard Pachabel's Canon begin to play. Instantly, I thought OMG it's here! And she heard something in her earpiece and said "come on it's time!" and led me to the entry way, where my uncle was waiting for me. "I thought you'd never get here!" he joked as he took my arm. They had just finished rolling out a carpet for me and then, like a dream, the doors swung open and Here Comes the Bride started playing. I looked around, but all I focused on was seeing Mr. Scientist's at the end of the aisle, just smiling so broadly. My uncle stopped to give me away, and whispered in my ear "He'd be so proud" as he kissed me on the cheek. I still tear up as I think about that cuz I know my dad was there watching us. And then I met my groom at the altar.

Our ceremony was incredibly beautiful. Our close friends read passages we had chosen for each other but not heard until that moment. We showed our unity with a sand ceremony and then had my wonderful cousin read a prayer over our hands that I just loved. All of our readers did such a wonderful job. I focused on keeping my voice steady and calm when I said my vows, which i think I did. And the next thing we knew, we were married!!!

The rest of the night was a blur of pictures and hugs and hellos and smiles and more pictures, but it was wonderful. True to what they say, we did not eat much at all. We spent the cocktail hour taking pictures since we didn't see each other before the ceremony, but I wouldn't change that moment of seeing each other for the first time for anything. Before we were introduced into the reception, we were taken upstairs and given some cocktail hour food, which was good since we barely got to eat any of our other food. I think we had had about 5 bites of dinner before people started coming up and talking to us at our table, which was fine. We were too excited to eat much anyway....although we did drink! :)

At one point, I had lost my wine glass having put it down somewhere to talk to someone, and since I was close to the bar, I just asked the bartender for another one. It wasn't the special wine we'd brought that we had on our table, but whatever. My brother was there getting a beer and just then, Friends In Low Places, which I had requested the DJ play started up. "I love this song!" I declared to my brother, who loves country music and had no idea I liked this song. "Me too!" he agreed and I dragged him out on the dance floor to dance with me. We swung each other around and managed to keep our full glass of wine and full bottle of beer from spilling and the photographer, who just happened to be standing there, saw the whole thing and started snapping away. I can't wait to see those pictures!

It was a late wedding, and people all seemed to leave as soon as cake was served since most people had worked that day. The room was all but empty with about 45 min left to go! So we partied out the rest of the night with about 30 people left. But it was all the die hards and I thank all of you for staying to the end!

The day/night was a whirlwind, but it was so wonderful. I'm actually glad I can relax now though. I finally can stop with appointments and payments and keeping track of who got what and what we were keeping where. I'm actually glad to settle into my new life with my husband. And we both keep looking down at our hands and seeing our new rings and letting it sink in, which I don't think it fully has yet, that we're MARRIED! And that we will be with each other forever. Wow.

Stay tuned for the follow-up blog...our trip to NJ.

My endless days of errands have finally ended. Tomorrow, I am (much deservedly in my opinion) taking my last 4 personal time hours, which I must use up before they renew in November, and getting my nails done and my hair cut. Then, I want to just go home and relax for a while, enjoying having nothing to do. What? Your wedding is in just over 2 wks and you have nothing to do? No, that's not true of course. I could put away the gifts I received from my work shower last week (thank yous have already been written), or I could write out my table placement sheet, or I could put my bridal party's gifts together, or...you get the picture. But tomorrow night is mine. Mine!

Mr. Scientist's friend is throwing him a bachelor party, which as far as I knew was to be held this Saturday. Now, their boss is unable to make it this weekend and is reportedly very bummed about this fact, so they may reschedule it to Nov 1. My brother wanted to go upstate to Sleepy Hollow for the haunted house stuff and today told me that he had replied yes to the bachelor party. Now, I don't know if his friends aren't going this weekend at all, or if he told them to go without him so he could come to this. Hopefully, he was being noble and told them to go without him, because it could turn out to be good karma for him and he could get to do both. That would be nice.

 

Two weeks ago, my girls threw me my bachelorette party. Beth, my matron of honor, flew up from FL for the occasion. The gang took me to a nice Italian restaurant, and Monica picked out an amazing bottle of wine, so we had to get two of them. Then, we headed downtown to a bar in the village that was a former speakeasy known as Death & Co. We had about a half hour wait before we could get in, so we hung out in this dive bar down the block and did a shot and had a drink or two there before heading back to Death & Co. There, we ordered punch bowls for the table, drinking two of those before calling it a night.

The next day, what was supposed to be my a hangover recovery brunch at the Bonwit Inn, was my bridal shower. It was absolutely beautiful! There was a pink or ivory rose at every place, everyone got a wine stopper and a coffee cup with a personalized package of coffee inside, tied up with brown and pink ribbons (the colors of the wedding). How well does everyone know me? LOL I got beautiful gifts from everyone, and it was such a nice time.

The following weekend, my mom came over to the apartment to help go through and put away the shower gifts. I wrote out all my thank yous and sent them, so that's done. I also had my 2nd fitting that week. The dress is still too big on the top and it can't be taken in any more, so the seamstress has to put cups in the top to fill it out. Even though it is still not done, it is still beautiful. I have another fitting on Saturday to see how it is now with the adjustments. Hopefully, that will be it now. My bridesmaids have an appt on Saturday also with the woman who's doing the dresses to pick up theirs. They went the day of my bachelorette party for their fittings and the dresses are so beautiful. I really think they will all look gorgeous in them.

And now the craziness begins! Last week, my mom and I met with the wedding planner I hired from the Fox Hollow, who is my "Day-Of Coordinator". I am so glad I spent the money on this! I told Mr. Scientist that this was something I needed to do for myself and that I would pay for it, we didn't have to take it out of our wedding fund. She will call all of the vendors the week of the wedding to remind them of the day and time. She will be there to meet them when they arrive and tell them where to set up. She will be up in the room with me and the girls as we are getting ready to help us zip, snap or whatever else is needed, to bring food the girls since we'll be in the room for a few hours and to greet the photographer when he arrives. She has a list of special requests we want for the ceremony and reception, and she will ensure that those tings are set up and perfect before we arrive.

This week is my crazy week, weddingwise. Tue night, the town hall is open late, so we are going for our license. Wed night, we have an appt to meet with the DJ to nail down all the final things with him. Thurs night, we are meeting with the officiant to go over the ceremony itself. Friday is Mr. Scientist's birthday, and we are going for dinner at Tutto Pazzo in Huntington, which is on the harbor. It was on the dock that you have to reach from their parking lot that he proposed to me last year, on his birthday, so we are going there pretty much to celebrate both of our birthdays together. Saturday is the final dress fitting for me and my mother and then for the girls that afternoon. Sunday we are going to go up to my mom's to celebrate Mr. Scientist's birthday with my family. I plan to order him a cake with cannoli filling (his fave) from Alpine Bakery in Smithtown. While we're at my mom's, we still have wedding stuff to do. We have programs that need to be folded and table charts to work on. The RSVPs were due from the wedding invitations on Oct 10, and we will have to start tracking down the few people who have not yet replied at the end of the week. There is no mail today, so some might show up in the mail tomorrow. The people we are still waiting to hear from are one of my old coworkers from Reuters and a few of Mr. Scientist's family members, so his dad will have some calls to make.

I spent this past weekend having fun, knowing how much is coming up in the next few weeks. While Mr. Scientist ran some errands on Saturday afternoon, I spent the day cleaning the apartment from top to bottom. I got a new shower curtain from my aunt at the shower, and I put it up, replacing the gross one the landlords had put up for us when we moved in. I finally feel like the bathroom is not skanky anymore. I put a new liner up in the shower and now I'm not grossed out when it touches me cuz I know where it's been. The apartment finally feels homey and like it's ours. (Even though I do still want to move next year) Saturday night, Mr. Scientist and I went on a date. We went for a cheap dinner (Applebee's is a far cry from Tutto Pazzo) and to the movies to see The Dutchess. Sunday, I took my mom to see Mamma Mia as a thank you gift for all that she has done for us for the wedding. Seeing as how the play is about a girl getting married and her relationship with her mother, I thought it was perfect. I had seen it before, but my mom had not, and I forgot that there is a scene toward the end when the girl is about to get married and her mother helps her get ready. The mother sings this beautiful song about how quickly the time has gone and where did her little girl getting on the school bus go? We were both sitting there sniffling! LOL Afterward, we went to Ruby Foo's for dinner. It was such a nice day.

This week, with all that I have to do, is going to fly by. On Friday, the wedding will be three weeks away. I can't believe how fast the time is going. The wedding is going to be here before we know it. I'm already organizing in my head what needs to be done that week (payment in person to the Fox Hollow, last meeting with the florist, bringing all the things over to the hall for that day, a nail appt with the girls, the rehearsal dinner, getting to the hair salon and then into the Inn at Fox Hollow in time for the make up artist, etc etc), I'm just ready for it to be time to walk down the aisle. I know that time will come sooner than I think, and I am trying to enjoy all this preparation because it is a once in a lifetime experience. I am also keeping in mind that when it all comes down to it, I am marrying the man I love, who I will be with forever, and that's what matters most.

Wow, it's been a while since I blogged! I am off on Monday for Columbus Day and I promise to update the world then. ;)

I freaked out on Mr. Scientist earlier today. Maybe it's cuz I'm stressed getting everything out of my dresser in my mom's house so my brother can put the couch he bought for his short-term apartment in there. Right now it's sitting on the covered patio in our backyard. I don't know. But it all came out this afternoon.

I called him so I could write down his flight information to pick him up later and we started talking about the apartment and how I haven't been there all week. Our bathroom floor has tile on it, and since the first day we've been in there, the grout between the tiles has been coming up in big chunks. We told the landlords about it, and they said they would replace the floor during the week Mr. Scientist goes to Las Vegas, since you need a couple of days of not walking on it. So, the wife called me yesterday to tell me that they hadn't finished yet and that while we can walk on it, the landlord will finish it on Monday. She didn't even ask if  that was OK. If I were her, I would say something like "I'm sorry we didn't get it done in time. Is it OK if we finish it on Monday?" No. She just informed me he's going to finish it Monday. What if Mr. Scientist had decided to take an additional day off on Monday to combat jetlag? That was just like last weekend, Mr. Scientist was in the field doing an OT job, so I was left alone to let the deliverymen in from the furniture store when our bedroom set was delivered. The call we had received on Fri morning said the delivery would arrive between 10 and 1. At 9, I was in the bedroom making the bed, when I heard the landlady banging on the door we share and yelling something. I looked out front and the furniture people were here, an hour early! So I called out to the deliverymen that they were not expected yet and that they'd have to give me a minute. I threw on some clothes and then let them in. Later, after they'd left, I called the landlady to apologize for the confusion and told her they were an hour early. So she said "Well, we went out there and their paperwork said 9:00." I said "The call we received said 10:00." So she said "They were ringing your doorbell." I said I never heard it and she said "Yeah, it doesn't work all the time." Apparently not!

I'm finding in this place a lot of things don't work all the time. When we saw the apartment, they very strategically left all the bedroom doors open, as well as the door to the linen closet. This is most likely because the doors all stick and make horrible noises when you open them, especially the linen closet. I need two hands to pull that open. And the closet doors in 2 of the 3 bedrooms are like this, as well.

I find the landlords are always in our business. I saw them in early Sept, while waiting for Mr. Scientist to come home, and mentioned he was on his way home from having someone hit his car (cuz he had the rent money on him and we were intending to pay them that night). He was home maybe 10 min when the phone rang. It was them calling to urge me to take him to the ER to be checked out, which we were going to do anyway. The next day, the husband saw me and asked how he was, which was nice, but then said "I hope you don't think we were too pushy calling to tell you to go to the ER. I was an EMT for many years and saw too many people who should have gone refuse to go." So I just said no, that I was telling him to go, too, and that he was just fine.

And, I never noticed until after we moved in and I should have looked at this, our thermostat is in the living room and has a big lock box around it. I'm really nervous about how this winter is going to go. I'm hoping we're too hot and have to open the windows, but I'm expecting to be cold all the time.

The neighborhood is disgusting. We're right by the water, so I guess we're in a boating community, but everyone around us hangs out on their front steps/front lawn every night and 99% of the men don't wear shirts....and really should! We've had the first precinct make an appearance at the same house on our block three times in the two months we've lived there. And our neighbor across the street has a Harley and a hotrod that he and his son like to pull out onto the driveway every Saturday morning and work on/drive up and down the street with. I hate it. And I'm dreading going back tonight, having not been there since I left for work on Tue morning. There's also the fact that there is no easy way to get to where we are, which I had known when we signed, but we just didn't think it would be that bad, and the commute sucks for both of us.

So I told Mr. Scientist all this and he said "There's nothing we can do about this now. We are getting married in 7 weeks." I told him I know, but I just wish we could go back in time. I'd have looked at that place and kept going. My gut told me to rent out of a complex. I just feel like I live under the watchful eye of someone and if I wanted that, we could move into my mother's basement, yet my mother had less rules than these people do. We can't leave the house without closing and locking all the windows. They have rules how they want the garbage put out. They have rules about where our guests park, and they don't want us having anyone over overnight. (It's in the lease!) We told them we wanted to replace the showerhead (and I hate the water. It actually smells and tastes bad) and they said OK but we have to get a "water-reducing showerhead", which leads me to believe they aren't going to be the type to blast the heat come wintertime. Anyway, I told Mr. Scientist that I just thought we should have gone to a complex all along. When we were looking at places, he had said that he wanted to go to a house cuz we could get cable or electric thrown in and save money, whereas in a complex you pay for it. Guess what? We're paying rent that includes heat and water. That's it. We're paying for our own cable and electric, so there's no bargain there. Yes, we have 3 bedrooms, but 2 of them are very small, and I think a 2BR apt in a complex would ultimately have a larger square footage.

So we've been saying all along that the way we are budgeting/saving/paying bills off, we should be in great shape to buy a home in 2011. That's only 3 years away. That's pretty good. But right now, staying there til 2011 sounds like a prison sentence. I hated to hit him with all this over the phone while he's in Vegas, but it just came out. And he understood. And told me that he just wants me to be happy, but that right now we need to focus on the wedding and make the best of it. In the spring, he has to finish grad school, but once he is done with that, it will be late spring/early summer, and if I am still unhappy, we will go to a complex until it's time to buy a house. Does he love the prospect of moving for the third summer in a row? No. But if it will make me happy, he'll do it. He just wants me to be happy.

 I assured him it wasn't him. Living with him is fine. I just wish I were living with him in a place that I truly felt like was ours. I just don't feel that way in this place. And he understands. While he doesn't dislike it quite as much as I do, he said his commute is a bitch, he is grossed out by the locals, dislikes the neighborhood and thinks the landlords are weird, too. He said we'll make the best of it for now, and in June or July, we'll tell them we can't take the commute and the gas costs or whatever, and we'll move to a complex until we can buy a house. I felt SO much better, knowing he wasn't totally mad at me for not liking it, but especially knowing that he wasn't head over heels in love with it either. Maybe he didn't have quite the issues I do with it, but he isn't set on living there until 2011, the way I thought he was. And then he called me 2 hrs later, while waiting for his plane at the airport, to make sure I was OK since we hung up. Am I marrying a wonderful guy, or what?

So, with the wedding exactly 7 wks from today, here are the things I am juggling in my brain:

1. Hair trial appt 10:30AM on 9/27. Must have my veil & my headpiece with me.

2. I've been informed that I'm being kidnapped by my bridal party (after the hair trial, of course) on 9/27. They're going to my coworkers' home earlier that day to go for their 1st dress fittings.

3. I have to make an appt at my nail salon for me and the other 4 girls for the day before the wedding, so I need to find out eventually what, if anything, they all want done that day so I can schedule it.

4. I have to go over to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa in Woodbury to pick up a g/c for Mr. Scientist for his wedding present. He already knows I am getting him a massage the day before the wedding, and is looking forward to it!

5. Our programs have come in and they're lovely. However, they all need to be folded.

6. Once all the response cards are in (still have a few weeks for that), I'll need to make the seating chart, and then you should SEE the paperwork Fox Hollow gave me for that! They need a breakdown of who is at every table, with each guest listed alphabetically, in addition to a master list of every guest attending the wedding, and that has to be alphabetized, too.

7.  I need to go back to my extreme dieting again next week. I've been lax this week with Mr. Scientist not around to police me, and while I still weigh what I weighed at my fitting in Aug, my 2nd fitting is on Oct 2 and I have to make sure that dress still fits.

8. No appointments have been made as yet, but in October, I will have to meet with the DJ, the wedding planner, the florist and the priest to go over and finalize our plans. Plus, Scientist & I have to find time to celebrate our birthdays in there, too. We'll probably just do something quiet together in between our two birthdays. They are going to definitely have to take a backseat this year.

It's chaos, but it's organized chaos. I'm on top of all of it. Seven weeks is plenty of time to fit everything in, and I do have a wonderfully helpful and agreeable fiancee, in addition to friends who are always willing to pitch in should I need them, so I really am not stressed out. Yet. Check back with me in a month...

 

Happy first birthday in Heaven to my beautiful friend Deanna. I kept thinking the other day that I had to buy a birthday card for someone, and then I remembered it was Deanna's birthday I was thinking of. So much has changed since she left us, and it wasn't even quite a year ago yet. As I'm planning my wedding, I just keep thinking of all the things she was trying to do last year for hers while trying to get well at the same time. While this can be a very stressful and frustrating time, it's also so happy and so exciting, and I am happy that she was able to enjoy at least some of it. I will never forget bridesmaid dress shopping with her, just the two of us, or how excited I was for her when she shared with me a picture of her wedding dress when she found it. But beyond that, all year there have been things I would have loved to have shared with her, invited her to, laughed with her about. I miss her so much. And I know others do, as well. Sometimes it's still not quite real that she's gone. Sometimes, I feel like I just saw her or like I will see her soon at some upcoming event. Often, I can imagine what she would say about a situation or what her reaction would be to something that happened. I miss her laughing "Ugh!s" and her e-mail messages full of emoticons. (She had AOL and changed her emoticons practically daily...always different!)  But mostly, I just miss having her around, as I know so very many people do. Happy birthday, Deanna. I know you are looking down on us sending lots of  our way!

I had my 1st dress fitting today!! It was so amazing to see MY dress on me, and not the one that was the sample that everyone gets to try on. And, back when I ordered it in January, I was between 2 sizes. I told the saleslady I was steadily losing weight, so she ordered the smaller size, and it has been in the back of my mind ever since then that I have to fit into this dress that technically would not have fit me in January. It fit! The seamstress put a TON of stick pins in it as markers - where they will pull the chest in on me cuz I don't fill it out (still getting used to, but loving, that!), where they will bustle the train and where they will pull the sleeves higher on the bodice so they stop slipping off my shoulders. I haven't physically laid eyes on the dress since Feb, when the bridal party and I went dress shopping and I showed it to them, but I still love it!

I haven't had a minute to post here in about a month! So much has been going on. Mr. Scientist and I moved into our new place at the end of July. It's beautiful, but it's a lot of work. We're still figuring out what we need and trying to get settled. We bought a bedroom set that was delivered in early August and today we went to IKEA and got an easy chair for the den. Yes, the den. We have a 3BR apartment, which is more like a small house. Once it's done, I'll be having people over for a get-together, but with the wedding only 2.5 mos away (OMG!) it may have to wait til after that.

Wedding things are starting to come back into play now. I have my first fitting in less than two weeks. A good friend of mine made out all the envelopes for me in calligraphy for the invitations. On my lunch hour one day this week, I need to take an entire envelope with all the enclosures to the post office and find out how much postage I need and buy the stamps. We have an appt with the hall where we're getting married in early September to finalize all the food, linens, cake, etc. That weekend, I'm taking the girls who live in NY to my coworker/seamstress's house to get their gowns fitted on Saturday, and we should be going for tuxes for the guys on Sunday. I can't believe how quickly all this is moving along! And I've been dieting like crazy to get to as low as I can for my first fitting. (the photo I posted in the green sweater was taken in mid-July) I need to lose 2.5 more lbs to get to 70! I'd like to be between 70 & 75 for the wedding, then we'll work again in prep for the honeymoon, but the lingerie and the gown are bought for the size I pretty much am now, so I'm nearly there!

My brother has gotten over Slutshername. He's gone out a couple of times with a female police officer he met at work. She has a JOB. She has more time on the job than him, so she actually makes MORE than he does! She likes a lot of the same things, and they seem to have a lot in common. He said she is seeing someone else too, so he is not expecting anything and it is just a whatever happens, happens kind of thing. I'm just so glad that he not only realized, finally, how wrong she really was for him, but that he has been able to move on and not dwell in the past. For her part, she got her stuff out of the apartment, but left her bed behind. Her parents bought a new one for her and probably couldn't get hers out of the apartment, so they just said the heck with him and left it for him to get out. He's got til the end of the month to get everything out, which knowing him, he will take every second of it. He never does anything with time to spare. But as far as I've heard, Slutshername, except for once early on, has not called or texted him. I don't know how she's doing, hopefully better by now, but my brother has definitely moved on.