chestnutcurls | Down to the wire.

I'M GETTING MARRIED ON SATURDAY!!!

I'm just a little excited. :) This is a two-and-a-half day work week for me, and it's a good thing, because my powers of concentration are really limited.

Having looked fine for all five months of my engagement, my hair and skin are now rebelling, and my throat has been hurting since yesterday morning (along with everyone else's in Memphis, apparently). Attention sinuses: it is now TOO LATE to inflame. The window of opportunity has passed. Problems at this stage are NOT OKAY. Fall pollens are not an acceptable excuse. I've been taking vitamins, but would echinacea or other things (

Rachael, I know you mentioned elderberry) make any difference at this point? Also, does anyone know any miracle skin cures? My tried and true baking soda isn't doing much for my awful chin. It's my own fault, since I slept in my makeup Friday night, totally forgetting to wash my face. Dumb, dumb, dumb.

So let's talk about this weekend! We had a blast Friday night. I painted a cute plate for us to hang up in the kitchen. We had a great Benihana dinner. When we were done eating, we went to the karaoke room and everyone was gone - they had just closed! My mom pleaded with them to let us do one song, so all of us got up together and sang "Man, I Feel Like A Woman!" LOL. Then we went back to the house and Debra gave me a very special present - she had gotten everyone to write down their favorite memories with me. Even my grandparents had contributed! It was one of the coolest presents ever. I've already read through it three or four times. :) Kathy and MaryElaine stayed to spend the night, so we watched The Prince & Me and worked on the wedding programs until our eyes were crossing. It was nice to spend time with them.

On Saturday we went to my co-worker's wedding. It was great, and we had a lot of fun hanging out with my other co-workers and their husbands. They all seemed to like Evan a lot. :) That took up most of the day. Yesterday, our Sunday school class gave us a congratulations/farewell brunch. It was so nice of them. They also presented us with our platter, an accent plate, and a rice bowl! We hadn't gotten any of those yet, so it was happy and unexpected. The rest of the day, I took care of little things while Evan was at work. It was my last day to relax at home, so I made the most of it.

Gandalf has been so bad for the past week or so. It's no wonder I'm so tired, because he's not letting me sleep. He comes into my room at night and meows this continuous, loud, whiny meow, immediately followed by him crashing into the window blinds and rattling them around. I chase him out and close the door. He comes back and scratches at the door till I let him back in. He behaves just long enough for me to fall asleep again, and then re-starts the cycle. He usually senses when a change is coming or when I'm about to go on a trip, so I guess he's angry. What am I supposed to do? This can't keep going on all week. I need rest.

Happy late birthday to

Britt,

Sara, and

Carolyn!