6 weeks and counting...

Wow... we've been married six weeks already!
I have to say, when you get married you know it won't all be kisses and long walks on the beach. But you hope it is.
Jody and I have been very very busy, and still we feel there is too much to do, even for two of us. We have fallen terribly behind on thank-you notes. We have taken on too much -- fixing computers, trying to reorganize the entire house in one month, dump run, helping my parents move, attempting to sort out a budget before we buy anything big (ie; a bed).

Our strategy has changed to unpacking one box a night, no matter how tired we are. Some days we do better, so we are down to only 3 more boxes of my stuff that needs a home. My mom brought home the Ikea bookshelf we asked for from Vancouver, so I used my new screwdriver set to put that together in about half an hour on Sunday and it's mostly full already. I do love books... and candles. Jody was in shock on Sunday when I unpacked a box and a half of PartyLite. Hey, he has games complete with a racing wheel and flight stick... I figure I can have some tealights and pretty holders.

Just last night we ordered wedding photos. It was difficult; not only were there so many beautiful ones, Jody actually teared up looking at his "lovely bride" and I got a bit emotional thinking what a wonderful ceremony we had. Plus, we were a little stressed out two nights ago because we were feeling the pressure to order before the photos went offline, and what I wanted was a nice time together--instead I was cranky over how rushed we were. Last night was much better because we knew it would take three hours, so we planned for it. Our order is in, and should be here soon. Also, I took some in to Blacks, and they turned out nicely up to 8X10. I don't know that I would trust a close-up of faces in an 8x10, though, so that's what we ordered professionally printed from our photographer -- plus one 11X14 of the kiss behind the parliament buildings fountain, which seems to be a favourite of anyone who's seen the photo collection in its entirety. 587 photos. Good grief.

We are trying to make time for ourselves and our friends. We've had an ice cream date, walking around downtown with gelato in hand, pretending it's summer. We went out to Swans and Swing City for dancing, but not as often as we'd hoped. We had a nice dinner out with Mitch & Pam at 5th Street, and have made many meals together, some of them with wine or fancy dessert. We pored over the Boulevard cookbook we received in the mail from our dinner-out restaurant in San Francisco, deciding we will have hero status if we manage to make ANYTHING.

Michelle has joined us for dinner & the first two Pirates movies at home. We hope to make this some sort of a tradition. She and I saw The Painted Veil together when Jody was out and our friend Sarah was consumed with busyness from work. It was sad, but well-acted; we were, however, disappointed in the ending. And one of my roommates was in the kitchen banging around on a really pivotal, quiet scene. Grr.

We've set up my computer on the house server so I can play my music on the speakers attached to the TV, through some technological miracle of Jody's PS3 interacting with my computer. Don't ask me how. We also use that to watch episodes of Battlestar Galactica, and are nearing the end of Season 3 now.

I joined a book club and have just finished reading "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy, but no word yet on when we'll discuss it. Should be interesting, seeing my English friends outside of cram time. And I am thinking of participating in a blog-off to raise money for a girl going on a 3-day walk to fight breast cancer.

I have been trying to ride my bike more, but it's a bit scary. I went down a street with no bike lane to get downtown the other day-- it was busy and I got sworn at, then nearly cut off to the point where I had to pull over and give up and get on the sidewalk while someone backed into a parking space. So I can't say I'm too thrilled, despite my new lock and helmet and flashing light.

My folks are moving in less than a month now. They've bought a house, which my dad fully intends on restoring before they leave (reality: my mom does the work). So that's keeping the whole family busy. We are also making trips to Vancouver to see Unc, and our cousins are playing lots of field hockey. Never a dull moment.

Anyway... that's about what I've been up to the past month or so since the wedding. Just last night Mom called and asked if we could loan her a teapot until they move... And I said no, absolutely not. We have none to spare; we need all seven. At once. :)

Counting down!

The wedding is almost here!
The tally so far is:
8 more sleeps
85 RSVP's
1 bachelorette
1 shower
2 cakes
1 hair trial
54 bobbypins
5 haircuts
1 out of town guest (Nana)
35 favours done
45 programs printed
2 passports
2 excited fiance(e)s

I can't believe it's so soon! :)

One more thing...

Twenty. Days.
In just under three weeks, Jody and I are getting married!!!
We're so excited we can barely stand it, and I can hardly wait until my last exam is over and I can actually think about seating arrangements and vehicles and showers and what on earth I'm going to do with my Nana when she arrives on the 2nd.
But for those of you who are wondering, the cake and flowers and photography and food are all set up and it's all going to be wonderful. And tasty--definitely tasty. The cake and food, that is.
So, if there are questions about bachelorette party stuff please talk to Michelle, my best friend/Maid of Honour; if you're wondering about a shower there's a rumour of a surprise shower being perpetuated by my Gramma but I really don't know. My mom's back in town on Tuesday afternoon, so hopefully she has some knowledge that I don't.
We are registered at The Bay, which you can view by our names (Jody's last name is Garnett with two t's) online or in-store, if you don't know where to start. There isn't anything we desperately need aside from new furniture, which we're saving up for. We most definitely do not need any tea. We likely don't need any books either, but we'll always take books. :) We like games too, and music for our iPods, and we both like to cook but aside from Pyrex and Epicure we are well-stocked.
But really, if we've invited you it's because we want you there, not because we want stuff from you. Just come. Enjoy the party, bring a camera and your dancing shoes, and remember to hug your mom the next day because it's Mother's Day.

The busyness!

Jody and I were busy with many things over the weekend-- premarital counselling, the menu, the guest list, talking about the honeymoon... not to mention going to church, sorting through boxes I'd brought over to his place, cleaning and reorganizing, and taking a bit of time together just to relax.
Wedding planning is not for wimps!

My parents are selling their house, which only makes sense. So it has to be scrupulously, ridiculously clean. Yes, I am untidy. No, I am not a slob--mostly (clean) clothes and papers/books stacked everywhere. So this constant tidier-than-tidy cleanliness is a bit much--I mean, you can't really *live* in a house when you're selling it and people can call and say, "Is it okay to open up your home in 10 minutes?"

Mom went to the thrift store today and walked off with fabulous vintage Nine West shoes that only need to be re-heel-tipped. She also found a navy blue, floaty gown with a belt--complete with oval rhinestone buckle--that fits her perfectly. Yay, Mom! She looks great.

Today I took another look at Peoples and found a wedding band I really like. This is the best one I've found yet. The lady there also looked at my engagement ring and was scandalized that I'd been wearing it, because apparently the last two people who've looked at it had not noticed one of the smaller diamonds spinning around in its setting. So, yeah. Now it's going to be retipped, or whatever it is they have to do to stop it from doing that. Apparently I'm lucky I didn't lose any of the four smaller ones, because they are loose, but especially the one on the end. And the diamonds are the original ones from the fifties, which means they wouldn't be easily replaceable. Plus it doesn't go in for appraisal until the end of the month.

I didn't think about it much until today, but having our wedding on Mother's Day weekend affects more than just the invitees. It affects the florists. My first choice for a florist is not doing any weddings that weekend. So I have to look for someone else.

On a good note, with all this rearranging and moving boxes, Jody and I are closer to deciding what we'll need to go and get a registry started. Because people have been asking, which is lovely, except that we've been too busy with things that are more immediately pressing. So hopefully we'll have an answer for those people soon...

School. Ah, school. This is coming into crunch time. And there is so much to do I wish there were two of me. And perhaps someone to read the depressing American novels heaped on me this term--it will be a wonder if I don't go into a mental asylum like Esther from The Bell Jar or find myself underground with stolen power lighting up thousands of lightbulbs like the narrator in Invisible Man. No, not H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man--this one's by Ralph Ellison. And I have to say, Oprah picks dark books. The Bluest Eye, anyone?

So that's about it for me right now. Time for bed.