Poorly Thought Out Ideas

I totally shouldn’t be at work today.I can tell you right now that pretty much nothing is going to get done. In fact, if I leave tonight having remembered to rerecord my voicemail greeting I will consider it a productive day.

I also probably shouldn’t have bought tickets to this Ani DiFranco concert tonight. God knows I love Ani and her new album is pretty bitchin' but I bought the tickets without looking at the date and then I realized it was the night before we leave for New Orleans and figured “Oh well, by Monday night I’ll be all packed anyway.”

I didn’t stop to think about how neurotic I was going to get about stuff I may (or may not) have forgotten to pack. I didn’t think about being woken up at 3am this morning and then not being able to fall back asleep.

On the positive side, this concert means I don’t have to sit through a Saint’s game tonight so that’s good. And I will try to not let my brain explode all over the place while I over analyze the contents of my suitcases from afar or what a freaking hassle it’s going to be to have to get through the airport with 3 bags, a garment bag, The Fiancé and all of his crap. Do they still have skycaps?

I for sure had too much coffee this morning and I feel like I could eat a good sized piece of livestock right now despite having eaten my usual breakfast. And I somehow left the house forgetting to take out the garbage again, for like the 4th time in two days. Oh and also, I lost the list of last minute things I have to take care of today. It flew right out of my hand and into traffic. I could take that as an omen that I need to stop worrying about stuff I might forget or I could take it as an omen that I am totally doomed to forget something important.

Either way, can’t really do much about it right? I’m pretty confident I got most of it taken care of (except the take out the garbage thing.) And, even though I am super worried about turning my hair some unfortunate, Greg Brady color, I believe I will be forgoing the swim cap should I decide to take a plunge in the hotel pool this week. That’s what Clairol is for right?
RIGHT?

Yeah, so over-caffeinated, under-sleeped, in desperate need of some hard core mental distractions but also not really willing to do any actual “work” today. What a mess I am.

Woohoooo getting married!! YEHAW!

One Month to Go

It’s really no secret that The Fiancé and I are hopeless procrastinators but that sort of thing doesn’t really get a chance to catch up with you until you find yourself one month away from your wedding with a list of things to get done.

I’ve already checked off all of the big, important stuff, but the details are killin’ us right now. And frankly I’m over it. Let’s just have this party and be done with it.

But weddings don’t work that way (apparently.) Everyone’s gotta know everything about everything. By everyone I totally mean my mom whom I suspect is beginning to stew in her own juices up in New York. I suspect that because, as usual, I am the one who put that pot on to boil. To be fair, I’m pretty sure she’s been on simmer since I left New York ten years ago. But that’s another post for another time. Deciding to get married in a place that is completely out of mom’s jurisdiction did not help this situation at all. A dutiful daughter totally would have gotten married in her home town and let her mom shower her with rose petals and hire a gang of wandering minstrels to follow her around on The Big Day.

This was not the route I chose to take.

I like New Orleans. It’s a great place to have a party. It’s really far away though so I can’t poke at vendors in person the way I used to poke at directors/actors/designers when I was stage managing shows so it’s a bit of a job keeping everyone on task.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’m the one having trouble staying on task. I’ll spend 20 minutes checking out limo prices and then get sidetracked by the need for wedding jewelry. My emails to my girlfriends have been erratic unfocused which, while I love me some stream of consciousness, is not usually my M.O. Every day I am making new lists to replace the lists of yesterday and while some people get stressed out and forget to eat I get stressed out and obsess over food. So, over the course of the day my thoughts may read something like this:

Oh crap I have to get those wedding favors picked out….What time did we say we wanted the ceremony to begin?....I wonder if they have a good mirror in the ready room at Rosy’s….I have to make a list of people coming to the rehearsal dinner so we can send them directions….damn, I could eat a pizza right now…..what about that necklace, that’s pretty…what was I saying about a pizza?...Damnit, work keeps getting in the way of all my wedding planning!...I’ll go out at lunch to find a sign in book….Nuts, I have to get those photos printed….Oh man I hope the food at the wedding is good….How are we going to get a bus to the reception hall mom?...Wont someone give me a slice of pizza?!

You get the picture.

My brain is as jumbled as my email inbox right now between wedding planning, election worrying and actually, you know, having to WORK occasionally during the day I have a hard time turning my brain off at night and when it does shut down, it’s gone. I mean I sleep like the dead when I sleep these days, which is cool because I usually sleep poorly. But, it’s freaking me out because I've been having some crazy dreams lately. Not that I can remember any of them two minutes after my alarm clock goes off but I do know I’m out of breath after a lot of them.

So yeah, weddings make people and mom’s crazy. Learn this lesson childrens. With 30 days to go I’m fairly certain my brain won’t explode before we get down to New Orleans but who knows what’s going to happen once we do get there.

Laissez les bonne temps rouler!

369 Days

First things first.
Why is it October and 80 degrees in Chicago?

Second (and barely more importantly as I sit here sweating, in October.) 369 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, I'll tell you something. I am heartly exhausted with the word fiancé. Blah. What a poncy word. And I've been using it (mostly. You shut up.) for almost a year. I just don't like it. I don't like saying it. I don't like referring to The Fiancé as The Fiancé. It sticks to my tongue. It doesn't want to be said. I still use boyfriend sometimes. But, I've begun to call him The Husband in my mind.

I think part of it is that saying "fiancé" opens the situation up to a myriad of questions that I just don't like talking to strangers about. Or, non-friends. Now you're going to ask me for all the details. The whole thing: the ring, how we met. Bleeh bleeh bleeh. Blah blah blah. Blow blow blow.

Enough.

I am occasionally overcome with a sweeping desire to dance around whatever room I'm in at the prospect of this wedding. And, as details finally begin coming together I sometimes clap my hands in glee. I can't wait. But, at those times, I have my clan to whom I can go squealing and jump up and down in circles for however long I need.

The rest of you peoples? Drive along. Stop gawking at the bride to be.

As for the other part of it, the Marriage part of it? I am neither sentimental enough, nor drunk enough to expound upon that topic at this time. Suffice to say that it is good to love and be loved in return.

Anyway, back to this wedding.

I am now in possession of one (1) wedding tip & etiquette book (thank you, young Mrs. LaGarde.) Thankfully it is not too outdated, or overbearing. And I'm sure that some of it will come in handy. But, I'm not lacking for advice. Or help. Which is so awesome. And I am so grateful.

So yeah. 369 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) Days to go. 369 days to plan, fit, flower, taste and get it all in order.

Bring it on.