The Beauty and the Mess

Yay! I just had an impromptu lunch with Casey at our traditional lunch place, because I was having a huge craving for their turkey pita sandwich. It has turkey, Swiss cheese, sprouts, and cucumbers, with ranch dressing to dip it in. SO GOOD. I'm glad we got to go.

It's going to rain on my wedding day. Cue Alanis Morrisette. I had hoped that the sun would shine on me, but that's the risk we take having a wedding on Thanksgiving weekend. It's always either gorgeous or horrible. In fact, the worst tornado to hit Memphis hit on a Thanksgiving weekend...and tore the roof off my church, though it wasn't my church at the time. Oh well, people will still come to the wedding. They'll just need umbrellas.

Last night we took all the decorations over to the country club and finalized the menu and stuff. Then my mom took me to JCPenney and bought me an outfit for the rehearsal, which was very nice and appreciated. She also bought a button-down shirt for Evan, since I was concerned that he wouldn't have enough nice clothes to last our honeymoon. He needs non-T-shirt clothing. Badly. I think I know what he's getting from my entire family for Christmas. :) Anyway, my mom has been driving me nuts in some ways, but really, she spoils me. So does my dad. I don't deserve all that they give me. They've always sacrificed for us kids. I wish they'd take better care of themselves, though. I was reading my book of Cathy comic strips (good stress relief) and Cathy got frustrated because her mom kept trying to give her her sandwich. She was like, "Mom, you're a person too! You deserve to eat a whole sandwich!" That reminded me so much of my mom...she does that all the time. I hope someday I can help my parents the way they've helped me.

We were going to move Evan's dresser and papasan tonight (the only pieces of furniture he's keeping), but there's a 100% chance of rain, so we're doing it tomorrow instead. We both have a half-day tomorrow - this is my last full day of work. It's really quiet here since most people took the week off. Everyone keeps asking what I'm doing here this week, apparently forgetting that I get two weeks' vacation a year (as opposed to most of their four and five weeks) and it's really stupid to use it all at once. Anyway, we moved some of his boxes last night, most of which were full of books. When we get home from Jamaica, I should take a picture to show you what happens when two bookworms marry. It's a little scary. I told him I felt like I was acquiring a used bookstore.

Everyone is also commenting on how calm I am. Should I be worried? Maybe everything hasn't really hit me yet? I don't know. I think our culture has such preconceived notions of how people ought to feel and act when they're about to get married. If I'm a weirdo, I'm happy to be one. :)

Here are some of my pictures from Emily's wedding! Evan took most of the ceremony ones, so send any compliments or complaints his way. :)

Last night Evan and I hung out with Casey and had a great time. As it sinks in more and more that we're really getting married, I worry more and more about finances. As usual, Casey had wise words to say on that topic. She reminded me that we'll be taking vows for richer or poorer, and that's a sign that money will always be an issue. If we had a lot of money, we'd still be struggling about how to spend it wisely. What's important is the marriage. I really needed to hear that. Also, after talking with her, we decided to scale down our honeymoon. We've really wanted to go to Hawaii, but with the rates I'm looking at, it would cost me half my savings. So we're reorganizing our priorities in order to afford more important things (more on that tomorrow!) and will probably just drive down to the Gulf Coast or something. I feel relieved now that we've made that decision.

Today I'm leaving work early and we're going with my parents to check out a nearby country club. My dad has heard nothing but good things about it. If all goes well, we'll go ahead and book it for the reception. We don't have time for hall-shopping or lists of pros and cons. :P I'm so thankful for my parents; they're being very generous. I am also thankful to the authors of Bridal Bargains, from whom I have already learned a lot.

I am still completely undecided on bridesmaid colors and flowers.

( I finally got this best friend generator to work! )

Oh, and happy birthday Jeremy! :D And happy fiscal new year to everyone else. Especially the accountants.

Wedding Week #1 begins. Excitement is in the air. Many things are in the works. Here are some important (to me) things that happened this weekend:

- Evan took me to see The Terminal. It was the best movie I've seen since Return of the King. I think this movie is to me what Lost In Translation was to a lot of people. I expected it to be good since it's Tom Hanks (the most brilliant actor of our time, in my opinion), but I didn't expect to be so moved and drawn into the story. This movie has so much to say about so many things- friendship, perseverance, patience, self-sacrifice, love. It's amazing. I already want to see it again. Of course, now that I've said this, you'll all see it and think it's boring. But to me it was really an experience.

- I bought my entertainment center at Wal-Mart. I ended up getting a different one than the one I had liked previously. It was $50 cheaper and much nicer-looking. We're planning to put it together tonight, but since there have been some problems with Kathy and Daniel's new apartment (basically, management didn't fix up the apartment after the last occupant), we might not be able to move things to make room for it. I hope we can, though. I'm antsy to get the process going already! New decor, yay!

- Both of my bridesmaid dresses are altered and ready to go, thanks to my mom. On a whim, she also made me a skirt in about ten minutes while I was standing there. I'm wearing it today. It's fuschia, has yellow and white flowers on it, and looks like it came from a store. She has an amazing talent. Too bad none of it rubbed off on me. :P

- Most exciting: Casey mentioned after church last night that someone had, without her knowledge, submitted an article she'd written to several Christian magazines- and one of them had accepted it. She was like, "Yeah, you've probably never heard of it...it's called...Relevant?" Of course I went nuts and started exclaiming about how I link to Relevant, and have thought about submitting something to them but have no idea what to write about. She was really flattered that I thought it was such a big deal. I mean, how exciting is that? I told you Casey was cool! :D Anyway, here's her article. It's on "The Venus Flytrap," on which topic she's developed a seminar and has taught it at summer conference for two years. It's geared toward women and is kind of blunt, just so you're aware.

( Some very special pictures. )

Here's an entry while I wait for my 40-page fax to go through...so I can follow with another 40-page fax.

Today is much better than yesterday. I'm wearing my new skirt, I don't have band practice tonight, and Evan is taking me to McAlister's for dinner. Also, I had lunch with Casey today. I love talking to Casey for many reasons, but a big one is that she's the only one who completely understands what a miracle my relationship with Evan is. For those who don't know or don't remember, Casey was the RUF intern during my years in the group. I often refer to her as my "mentor-type person." She has known Evan and I as long as we've known each other. For years I spilled my confusion out to her, and she counseled me so patiently. She was also there for some really happy times. We don't see each other as often now, but I still consider her an important person in my life. Anyway, she's so excited about Evan and I that it reminds me again what a gift God has given me; how shocked and awed I would be if I met three-years-ago-me in the street. I'm sorry if I'm too mushy or talk about this too much, but I am a very blessed, and undeserving, girl and I want the world to know about it. :)

Last night I finished three pages of my 7x7 Evan & Me scrapbook. I'm glad to have finally started it. Unfortunately I've already used up most of my "real" pictures and need to print out the rest.

This forward came from my church's e-mail list. I'm sure it'll stir up all kinds of controversy, but it made me think and I wanted to share it. ( It's not just about Americans )

I am alarmed by the number of people who answered "Huh?" to my Homestar Runner poll question. Please do yourself a favor and go here. Go watch the best Strong Bad e-mail ever. Be prepared to laugh a lot. You'll thank me later.

Today is a good day. Evan called this morning to tell me that, due to technical difficulties, he's not going off-roading this weekend. Which means that he can go to the football game and the symphony with me. Yay! This is how great he is: he drove all the way to my work area (a 40-minute drive) to get a check from me for all of our symphony tickets, then drove back to our church (near his house) to get the tickets for me, and then drove back out to this area to go to work. All so I wouldn't have to worry about picking them up myself. Isn't that nice? It's the Kiev Symphony, which comes to our church once every few years and is said to be phenomenal. This will be the first time I've gotten to go. My family is going with us, so it'll be a nice time. Evan is excited about going, too. Despite his tough truckish exterior, he's very cultured and enjoys artsy things. He's so well-rounded. :)

I had a long-awaited lunch with Casey today, most of which was spent squealing over the new developments in my life. Casey has been a friend and advisor to me for three years and has helped me through so many things. It meant a lot to me to be able to rejoice with her. :) She told me how excited the old-school RUF crowd is about me and Evan being together; predictably, everyone she's told has said "It's about time!" The happiest news she gave me was that Ryan is apparently very pleased about it. I was worried that maybe he disapproved or felt weird. I'm so glad he's glad. I wanted his blessing.

Bible study last night was great. Jean is teaching on Job this time around, and last night's message was about preparing for the storms of life while the skies are still clear. He used tons of hurricane references, which sent me deep into Weather Nerd Mode. After the study, Evan and I went to Perkins for pie, and I spent much too long telling him about Hurricane Camille and the Galveston hurricane of 1900 and the Fujita scale. He doesn't share my enthusiasm, but at least he thinks it's cute.

West Wing was incredible last night. I was expecting the quality of the show to drop now that Aaron Sorkin's gone, but maybe the new writers will come through after all. We'll see. I'm so, so excited about Friends tonight! Last first episode. Waaah!

I miss the cat today. Isn't that weird? Sometimes I miss him while I'm at work. I used to feel that way about the bunny (and sometimes I still have attacks of missing him and have to go visit with him), but I never thought that was weird. But missing a cat might be slightly less nuts than missing a bunny. Anyway, I can spend plenty of time with him tonight while I watch my shows. I'm glad.

Last night was (unintentionally) entertaining. I went to the summer study at the Ugly Mug, and the tone of the evening was different than usual. The speaker was a local youth director whom I'd never heard of. Casey and Alli and I sat together on a couch and whispered a lot. Some outtakes:

Guy, interrupting the music for announcements: That's it. Let's get back to the tuneage!
Casey: Hey. Did you guys know we are now a youth group?

Speaker: Those whom God saves are the elect. And those whom he doesn't save are...the non-elect.
Me, thinking: Boy, am I glad you had those four years in seminary.

Speaker: When I go to this cafe, they know what I want for breakfast. And everyone wants a place like that! (Orating dramatically) A place where everyone knows who you are! Where you belong!
Me: I have a sudden urge to sing the theme from Cheers.
Casey: I'm already singing it in my head!

Ah, Presbyterian follies. I love my friends. I wish I had something else funny or uplifting to say, but I don't. Except:

CALIFORNIA COUNTDOWN : TWO DAYS

I had an interesting weekend.

On Friday, my bosses sent me home early. They had to help me take my lilies, my presents, and half of a huge sheet cake to my car. :) There was still no definite plan for the evening, so I sat around with Kathy for a couple of hours, messing with our new Harry Potter DVD. After a while Casey called and told me that we were going bowling. I had no desire to bowl, since Ryan and I had gone two days before, but that was the plan. I called the guys to tell them, and then we (Kathy, Evan, Ryan, and I) went to dinner. While we were there, Casey called to say that we were going to the drive-in after all. We headed there to meet her, only to find that the drive-in was now showing XXX instead of Signs. The four of us were not cool with this. Casey went ahead in, and so we didn't have much choice but to follow her. As soon as we parked in the drive-in, it started to rain. So Evan and I sat in the truck for two hours, with the windshield wipers on, making fun of the movie. It was not exactly what I thought my birthday outing would be. :)

Saturday was better. On Friday, both the guys had refused to tell me Happy Birthday, and I had been kind of peeved at them. Well, on Saturday, Kathy and I were walking through the mall when I got a call from Ryan. "Happy Birthday!" he said, joyously, as soon as I picked up. :) Apparently he (and Evan) had been rude on purpose, just so they could call the next day and act like that was my birthday. I told Ryan he was a total butthead. Kathy just laughed hysterically. :) I bought some nice clothes (big sale at the Petite Sophisticate), and then my family took me to dinner at Bola Pasta. Then I went home, because we were having a Monopoly party. I am terrible at Monopoly, but it didn't matter much since Evan and I were busy talking anyway. :)

Sunday we found out what's going on with our college/career program at my church, but I won't go into that now because this is already boring enough. Sheesh! I don't think I've posted anything this boring in a while.

I want to thank all of you again for your nice birthday greetings. And Lawson, thank you again for the lilies. They still look beautiful, and the whole apartment smells nice now. :)