Counting Down!

Yikes- this wedding is getting closer and closer! I'm working on music selection and gathering addresses and trying seating arrangements and filling out registries and picking readings (and readers!) and mailing off details for our cake topper and scheduling dress fittings and arranging for bridesmaids' gifts. I'm having fun, but am busy, busy, busy!

I think that the friends who knew me in college (Juliette, Courtney and Josh come to mind) are used to my frenzied planning mode. In fact, Juliette has even told me that she's glad to see some of my craziness back... I had apparently calmed down too much for her tastes since moving out of a dorm and into a cubicle. (Something about work breaking my spirit may fit in here...?) But most of the people who met me since I graduated (mainly work folk) aren't used to seeing me this excited! I thrive on stress, and even though I have a lot on my mind (tons, really!), I'm enjoying the details.

The thing that is really different from college, though, is that I'm actually getting things done! (Which, as literally anyone who knew me at Hamilton knows, NEVER happened while I was in college.) All of the major decisions have been made- the dress, the bridesmaids' dresses, the guest list, the invitations, the photographer, the band, and more. The most important of all these final decisions, though, is the groom!

I think a big part of the reason I'm not as crazed all the time anymore is Greg. He can relax me like no one else. Take the other night: the knives we had registered for were being discontinued, and I was nervous that the set that was available in their place was too expensive and that we would not receive it. (I mean, we're registered for Tiffany china- I'm nervous enough about receiving that!) We sat down "together" and spent an hour figuring out another option. Now, you may ask "how can you sit down 'together' when you're in New York and Greg is in South Carolina?" Easy: we were on the phone, on IM, on the Web Cam and e-mailing... all at the same time. Yes, this seems like overkill, but we were sending lists and files back and forth over e-mail while IMing web links. About the only thing missing was being able to sit with him on the couch. Gotta love modern technology!!

It was nice to be able to relax with Greg that night. We talked about lots of things other than cutlery, and when we finally hung up the phone, I realized that we had been talking for four hours!!! What would we do without unlimited in-network calling? My January 12th Verizon statement tells me that we were on the phone for 815 minutes... and we were together for well over a week of that billing period!

I miss Greg like crazy when he's away, but we see each other whenever we can... even if it means putting down $200 at the last minute for something like 32 hours together! So, I flew down to Charleston over the long weekend a few weeks ago! My flight got in at 12:30 Saturday night/Sunday morning, and I flew out at 10:00 on Monday morning. I know it sounds crazy to do that much traveling for so little time together, but we're both so glad I did it!

Greg and I spent the day walking around Charleston together. He had gone a walking tour of the city when he moved there a few months ago, and we retraced the route. Greg has an amazing memory for detail, and I think I probably heard about 90% of the tour! We had lunch on Market Street at a place called The Noisy Oyster. I knew I liked tuna melts, but crab melts?!?! Yummy!!!! We spent the evening playing cribbage and watching De Lovely, which was just perfect. We had both been going through serious withdrawal after spending so much time together over Christmas and New Years, so a night of simply hanging out together was exactly what we needed, even if it was only for a few hours.

Work is INSANELY busy these days. I was really happy when I first thought about the timing of quitting my job: I'd leave just before things started to get busy. Well, not so much. Our client pushed our planning season forward three months, and I'm up to my neck in PowerPoint slides and stacked bar charts! Poor Greg has been getting the brunt of this- I get out of work and talk about things like logical coding for targets and the very important difference between and "inclusive or" and an "exclusive or."

Juilliard is back in full swing, and we start rehearsals at St. Augustine's again tonight, so that's keeping me busy. The choir wants to sing at the wedding, so I need to talk with Michael (the choir director at St. A's) about that. I've wanted to practice my new guitar in the evenings, but by the time I get home the rest of the family is asleep. Makes me miss having my own place. So, guitar practice isn't really going to happen until after the wedding, but I'll have lots of evenings when Greg is on duty to practice without bothering anybody.

Until then, I've found a nice, quiet project: I'm knitting a blanket. Yes, I know this sounds like the typical "Lizzie starts some grandiose project and then never finishes it" thing, but I've got about a third of it done and I really like the way it's turning out. There's also the financial investment- I've spent $50 or $60 on yarn for this throw, and I don't want that money to go to waste. (Greg and one of his buddies were talking about the way the friend's new wife can spend $80 or more a month at Michael's; one of my favorite craft stores. Greg had heard me mention the store before and asked me- very carefully- about how much I guessed I usually spent on craft supplies a month. He was more than relieved to hear that I spend probably $20 to $30 a month on things like yarn, despite having matched or exceeded $80 a month in the past. I'm glad we talk about things like this now- we're trying to avoid surprises once we're married.)

Well, I need to put my nose back to the grindstone. And by grindstone I mean Dimetapp Target Analysis charts. Fun fun.

Boo!

Happy Halloween!!!


I'm usually a major Halloween enthusiast, but not so much this year for some reason. I wore an orange shirt to work today, but that's about. I didn't even remember my Halloween socks! (Which is a shame- Lynn gave me a great pair a year or two ago!)

The one (partial) exception to my Halloween apathy is in regard to Jack O' Lanterns. I say partial because I carved four last year (yes, four- one for my parents, one for my grandparents, one for Mary and Carl and one for myself!) This year I only carved two: my parents' and Mary and Carl's.

So, last year I was on a carving frenzy and wanted to carve more pumpkins than I had front steps, so I spread the love. I carved sailboat silhouettes into a small pumpkin, which I took over to the Olsson's house. I put it on their back porch, lit it, rang the bell, and drove off just as Mary got to the door. The Boat O' Lantern was such a hit (once they figured out who left them a treat) that I decided to do another this year. Again, a hit.

The real work of art this year though was the one for my parents. I used Grandpa P.'s chisels and other random tools from his collection to truly carve (rather than cut out) a design. It took me about six hours from first lid cut to candle light, but it worked out really well! There are only a few very small places where the design is cut all the way through the pumpkin, resulting in a cool translucent effect. Chiseling the design also allowed design elements that regular carving doesn't, such as polka dots.


I guess the reason that I'm not enthused about Halloween (or the day after, for that matter) is that I've just been busy as anything lately. I haven't had time to arrange anything for Halloween or my birthday- it's been all wedding, all the time. Which isn't a bad thing, it just puts other things on standby.

So, I'm not dressing up tonight. Instead, Courtney, Josh and I are going to try for standing room tickets for Company, which is in previews at the Barrymore. We haven't seen a show together for a while, so it should be a fun night. Our client is going to be in the office tomorrow, and we have rehearsal at night, so post-Halloween celebrations will consist of drinks after choir. Festivities will continue for a while, though, so I'm not getting shafted. I'm having dinner with my parents on Friday, then Teresa is taking me to see A Chorus Line on the 8th with J.J. and Mom. My favorite birthday gift will arrive on the 10th- Greg is coming to visit for the first time since starting Nuke School. It will have been six weeks between visits, and I miss him like crazy, so that's what I'm looking forward to most.

Anyway, Happy Halloween to all, and to all a good night!