Me and two of three maidens

That's Lori Kay Lorenz on the left (friend since the wombs) and my sister Tara Evers on the right. My sister, Karyn Wright, could not be with us because she was working and/or being trapped in a blizzard in Long Island, NY. Oh, and she was sick, too. She's in Dallas right now and she's feeling better. We missed her greatly. She would have had a lot of fun with the inflated lip thing. You gotta laugh about it.

Remember the sister in "Sixteen Candles" on her wedding day?

I am certain that Emily Post would turn over in her grave if she actually saw me sliding out of my chair this way at a bridal shower in my honor. But, then, i'm also fairly certain that if Emily Post paid really close attention to me in my daily life, she'd pretty much look like a pig roasting on a spit in her grave for all the turning she'd be doing! I was doing my very best considering my innards were on fire with symptoms from a heretofore-unbeknownst-to-me antibiotic allergy that I had been fueling for going on three weeks. At least my shirt was pretty!

Remember the sister in "Sixteen Candles" on her wedding day?

I am certain that Emily Post would turn over in her grave if she actually saw me sliding out of my chair this way at a bridal shower in my honor. But, then, i'm also fairly certain that if Emily Post paid really close attention to me in my daily life, she'd pretty much look like a pig roasting on a spit in her grave for all the turning she'd be doing! I was doing my very best considering my innards were on fire with symptoms from a heretofore-unbeknownst-to-me antibiotic allergy that I had been fueling for going on three weeks. At least my shirt was pretty!

Me and Mom at Central Baptist Bridal Shower

My Angelina Jolie Pillow Lips were starting to deflate at this point thanks to Benadryl

I'd Like To Thank The Academy

So. It’s Oscar night. Unlike in many years past, I am not sitting clustered around the television with all my movie-loving friends, vying to win the prize for having made the most, best educated guesses on our party ballot. Where am I instead? Sitting in a pile on my mother’s couch in Marshall, Texas, nursing a poisoned body. Yes. Poisoned. Unintentionally. Unknowingly, even. Did you know that even if you have never exhibited any kind of allergy to any kind of drug for your entire life on earth, all of a sudden, you can be allergic to two different classes of drugs? Regrettably, it is true. Last Wednesday, my hives starting to show up again, little by little, disguised as little red chicken-pox-like dots on my torso. On Thursday, they were back in larger patches, on more parts of my body. Thursday afternoon, I was having fever and chills and flu-like achy body symptoms. I called our employee health clinic to see if I could come get a flu test (because I had been exposed to a co-worker with the flu), but they were booked up and made me an appointment for noon on Friday. Upon leaving work on Thursday, it occurred to me that I was staring down a weekend with a commute to and from Marshall for my very first (two) bridal showers at my mom’s church and at my church there. I had been looking forward to that weekend for a VERY long time, and I decided that it was a better idea to go ahead to another walk-up clinic Thursday night, get the flu diagnosis and start taking Tami-flu ASAP. After several hours in the waiting room, I went back to the exam rooms, and they swabbed my nose, testing the fruits of that excavation, and the flu test was negative. No flu? Why did I feel so close to death’s door? They gave me a couple of prescriptions – one for something to help me sleep when my busy brain will not let me and an antibiotic called Ceftin for my alleged sinus infection (I’m still positing that the “doctor” who attended me in that clinic was a veterinarian-in-waiting). I waited until the next day to fill my prescriptions so that I could do that at our employee health clinic and not have to pay a $100 deductible (a serendipitous, God-thing because if I had started that antibiotic one day earlier . . . well, just read on for the gory details and could-have-been-worse scenario). Cut to Friday morning. More hives. Some fever. Went to work and had plans to cancel the noon appointment at the clinic. As the morning wore on, and I found myself unable to stop scratching, I decided to spend my lunch break with the doctor. She saw the hives, prescribed me a steroid pack to last seven days, gave me some anti-anxiety medication to last 20 days should I need it, and prescribed another steroid shot. And she sent me on my way. I filled those prescriptions as well as the ones given to me by Doctor Doolittle the night before. When I got to my car, I pulled out some cash to buy myself some lunch on the way back to campus, and I took the first dose of steroids and antibiotics. During the afternoon, nothing felt better. Friday night, I got dinner with my friend Karen at Napoli’s (“Good evening, beautiful ladies, are you enjoying your dinner?” – if you’ve ever eaten there, you know that guy). Then Karen followed me to my house to help me get together some boxes and other items for Chris and Jason to move to Dallas on the weekend. One of the items was my queen-sized bed, so I slept in my guest room. I usually turn the heat down at night, but I guess because I was having fever, I got chilled during the night, and mindlessly reached over to turn on my heated mattress pad so I could warm up and sleep comfortably. When I woke up Saturday morning, my hives had multiplied and intensified. I ate a little breakfast, took my medicine, got ready, packed and hit the road. As I was driving and listening to a very interesting book on tape, whose title I have totally forgotten by now, I glanced in the rearview mirror only to see that my lips had swollen four times their usual size. Fine if you are looking to make a name for yourself in the adult film industry, not so fine if you are going to meet a roomful of lovely ladies, friends and family, and poised for a lot of camera flashes. Some of my own family did not recognize me! I tried as best I could to maintain composure (somewhat successfully – I learned as a very young girl the value of laughing at myself). There were about forty people at the shower in the beautiful Central Baptist Church parlor, and I would like to take this moment to apologize to any of you wonderful guests with whom I did not get to visit. By the time you saw me, I had ingested Benadryl, Xanax (on doctor’s advice), and Ceftin, the antibiotic that I did not know was poisoning me. Not until Sunday did I understand that I had been fueling the problem by taking those antibiotics. I had blamed every other obvious variable in my life for the past three weeks for all this diabolical distress. First, I had no idea. Then I blamed the paint primer. Next, I thought it might be work stress. Packing and moving stress? Primer stress again? Then, there the hives were again, out of the blue. The doctor suggested that with all of the above, perhaps my ordinarily strong-as-an-ox immune system was suppressed, and it could not resist my newfound penicilline and cephalosporin allergies. Yes, both of them. Three weeks ago, I had strep throat (for the first time in my life, and I have been exposed to it A LOT!), and I took a full, ten-day mega-course of Amoxicillin. AND a SHOT of penicillin straight into my system! Several days later, the first hives breakout occurred, but it coincided with the paint priming of my future living room, so it was easy to blame the fumes. Two steroid shots. Hives gone within 24 hours. But apparently, the poison was there in my body, incubating, waiting for those shots to wear off seven days later. Because on the 8th day . . . scratch-scratch, itch-itch. Fast forward to 2nd course of antibiotics (I hate the things, by the way, and I usually try to ride out the illness if it’s not too severe). But this time, there was too much going on, and I just didn’t have the energy to fight it by myself. Big mistake. Well, clearly I need an editor, because I am going on too long, but all of this to say that I have been shoveling poison into my sweet little body for three weeks now, and right now, I look like I got closed up in a hermetically sealed room with a swarm of killer bees. Since Friday, I have used three full tubes of cortisone cream to help avoid itching to death, and today, when I could no longer stand it, I asked my mom to take me to Longview to the doctor. I had enough clarity to call my insurance company to find someone to see on a Sunday, and they kept me out of the ER when my mom remembered a little clinic in a shopping center in Pine Tree. I called WEB TPA back, and they confirmed that the clinic accepted my insurance. And there was virtually no wait. I begged for another of those quick-acting steroid shots, but the doc told me that since I had had a shot on Friday (glad I remembered to mention that), a shot on Sunday would send my body into adrenal shock which would then send my body into the ER with IV’s and a multiple-day stay. Pass on that option. Thanks. So he gives me a much higher dose of oral steroids, and tells me to eat lunch and clears me to go to my second bridal shower for the weekend. We make a mad dash to Marshall, I call two of the shower hostesses to let them know I will be there, but I will be late, and my mother drops me off at her house and goes to Walgreen’s to buy two cans of burn spray (perhaps my most inspired idea to date – numb the skin so that it doesn’t know it’s itching!), four tubes of cortisone cream (as of right now, displaced by the lidocaine spray), new steroids and Zantac (which apparently makes the steroids work more efficiently for whatever reason). Oh, one more gory detail. When you are being poisoned, and your body figures out that it needs to get rid of the poison for you . . . guess what? It does. But I don’t throw up. So . . . imagine the delight of adding the alternative method of purging poison into the red, itchy, hivy mix. So, that was my weekend. How was yours? In honor of Oscar, I would like to thank . . . My mother, who has nursed me like a baby through this crisis, and who has gone out of her way to make certain that I am comfortable and fully prepared for whatever comes next. My friend Lori, who gave up an inordinate amount of her personal/family time this weekend to come to my showers and to offer help and encouragement and ideas to ease my mind and body. My sister Tara, who found hours in her days that I know she does not feel like she has, to come to my showers, to keep track of all those amazing gifts, and to extend to me her unique brand of empathy, genuine positive regard and just plain beautiful smile and good humour. My friend Becky, who arrived within minutes after my calling her to give her expert opinion of the spread of the hive monster all over my body. My aunt Tommie, who let me crash at her house when my mom’s neighbors were burning leaves to which I am allergic, and I just didn’t feel like I could stand to get congested on top of all this other. Oh, and I think I owe her, like, three rolls of toilet tissue for that three hour visit. The lovely ladies who put together those two showers for me – I was so excited about them, and I hope that, in spite of my grotesque appearance and compulsion to show you my red, splotchy skin, you were able to see that I was brimming with gratitude, and I truly did feel like a woman being honored by people who love her and her mother. Thanks to each of you! To every guest who gave of their time and treasure to share this special time with me – I know there were numerous of you with whom I did not get to spend much time catching up, but please know that I saw you there, and I will never forget the gift of you!

Christi Must Really Be Feeling Bad

She must really be feeling bad because she actually forgot the log-in to her own blog. Christi forgetting how to log in to write something? Hard to believe, huh?

The Down Side

The down side of all the marvelous-ness of getting married and having a fun wedding is that it unfortunately also involved downsizing my life, purging the unnecessary and unsentimental, and kicking some crap to the curb. I'll be all glad I did it when it's all over and done with, but right now, it's bogging me down. I slept 14 hours last night save about 15 minutes when I got up to go to the restroom and read an email or two. And you know what? I think I might give it a go again tonight. I packed about 18-20 boxes, and I have two huge bags of stuff to give away, and three other huge bags of stuff to just put in the dumpster. Ridiculous. I caught up on some programs on the DVR while wading through all of it today, and I learned that 5% of people who smoke get lung cancer, but 33% of people who smoke get emphysema. I saw two sets of lungs that had been autopsied: one from a smoker and one from a non-smoker. Yipes. An alarming difference. I am so thankful that with all the things I ever flirted with that were bad for me, I successfully avoided becoming a smoker. Off-topic, I know. But I just saw the program, so it was fresh on the brain. We have started to get RSVP cards back, and so far, most responses have been in the affirmative. Very exciting! Next weekend begins the out-of-town-every-weekend trend. Next weekend, I will be in Marshall for a couple of church showers -- I am very excited about those because I know I will get to see some friends I have not seen in a very long time! Then, the next weekend, I am going to Nashville for a shower there with some super-fun friends! That should be a big time, too. Of course, as you can imagine, getting engaged and then muddling through the contents of my life have evoked quite a few uncontainable emotions over the past few months. I have at last physically purged some things that I feel like I had emotionally purged some time ago. And what a wonderful feeling. I realized yesterday that it was probably the mega-doses of steroids that I was given on Tuesday that made me feel like I was in a rage all the rest of the week -- I felt very emotional and very aggressive and overwhelmingly desperate a time or two. There have been some situations at work that have really worn me down, and I finally got to a point on Friday where I just had to fully vent about them. And I had a very important (at least to me) meeting with the parent of one of my students whom I hope to have given a greater understanding of the nightmare I live with her child every day. We shall see if empathy occurs and then if it provokes action. I want to be finished with graduate school. I wish my life was one where I could take a year off from work and just finish the Masters in the next year. Wouldn't that be amazing? I'm just not sure that is my life. I think it's time to go to sleep. And it's only 9:32 pm. I have not seen Chris in almost a week. I miss him. But that's the way the ball bounces sometimes, I guess. He probably needed a break from me, anyway. I'm a bit much for people sometimes, I think.

Cognizance

So, I have been forced to acknowledge something that I always know but always seem to forget. I internalize stress. Not every time, mind you. Sometimes, I can be snappish. But, as a rule, it manifests itself this way: fatigue, illness, insomnia. I've had all recently. Another thing I always do is ignore the proven fact that if I exercise, I feel better. Ultimately, I end up looking better, too, but feeling better is far more important. In the past few weeks, I have had more than enough bouts of not sleeping through the night, I had strep throat for the first time in my life, I sprained my right foot, and last night, at 3:00 am, I was plagued with giant, red hives all over my body. When I went to the doctor this afternoon, contrary to popular public opinion, the doc suggested that the hives were simply due to not having ventilated the room well enough last night when Chris and I were painting primer on the walls of his current (our future) living room. He questioned if it was well-enough ventilated at one point, but I kind of blew it off. Yipes was I sorry when the clock struck three! What a miserable day. I stayed at school and tried my best not to lapse into snappishness, but I was surely glad to have those two steroid shots in my booty twelve hours later! And they were free, which makes them doubly delicious. Back to popular opinion -- everyone kept saying, "It's probably just the pre-wedding jitters." I have absolutely no pre-wedding jitters. Isn't that cool? Seriously, things just keep falling into place, and we have made most of our major decisions. My family is being absolutely amazing, and my friends have lent more than just a few helping hands. Incredible. I am so thankful that somewhere in the past several years, I have been taught the true meaning of friendship, the value of giving without expecting in return, and to always expect the best. I'm not perfect, mind you -- I still am a big worry-wart, and my uncanny ability to troubleshoot an idea before setting it into motion (this is often mistaken for shooting down ideas or being unconstructively critical or balloon-popping, by the by) sometimes thwarts the very execution of the idea. In spite of all that still plagues me from time to time, I have still come out on top -- I love, I am loved, and I know love. What more do I need?

Fatigue

I am sleepy. I had to drive to and from Marshall to visit with my Dad and the lovely ladies who are putting together the food for the reception. Decisions and lists were made, and that project is in more-than-capable hands! I was listening to a very interesting book on tape called "Intuitive Listening" by Christiane Northrup and Mona Lisa Schulz. It's all about how various other issues and problems in our lives (bad relationships, dissatisfying careers, abuse, etc.) manifest themselves in physical problems in our bodies. Quite powerful stuff. I call it a book, but it is more like a conversation between friends, so it's interesting and captivating -- not a droll actor reading someone else's words. Oh, and I finally finished listening to "Wild At Heart" by John Eldredge. I'd read it, but I felt like I had missed quite a bit or at least forgotten quite a bit. Everyone, men and women, ought to read that book. It's dead-on, in my opinion. Well, it's eleven days until the wedding, and all appears to be well. Well, except for some nasty respiratory nightmare that manifested itself in my lungs at the end of my lingerie shower on Friday evening. Someone wondered out loud the other day if I woke up each day looking for the frogs to start raining out of the sky since I have been plagued by so many bizarre things during the past month or so. Who knows? I need to make a master list of everyone involved in the wedding to share with all involved in the wedding. I'm gonna chug some cough suppressant and do that before falling asleep.

Various

We decided to have our reception at the church as well. It will be in a separate building, a big ol' building with fabulous audio/visual capabilities -- and we are all about that, you know! Anyhoo, I had class tonight, and it was very interesting and thought-provoking, but I really wanted to be somewhere else. Then, although very tired, I had to go to the mall to try on undergarments to be work with my wedding gown. A bother. But a necessity. And I had to do it tonight because I am having my first meeting with the alterations lady tomorrow. Hopefully, she will have time to do what I need done. It sucks. That the alterations cost as much as the dress. Maybe I should have just dropped $600 on one of those original ones I looked at. Ugh. But I love the one I have. I'd just love it more if it already fit perfectly. I am so glad tomorrow is Friday. I have not really enjoyed the heck out of teaching this week. Although, there have been some beautiful moments. Like when my student who withdrew to move to Fort Worth last week popped in for a visit, and almost every kid in my class started smiling and singing out her name. Then they gathered 'round her, hugging her and telling her that they missed her. Which made her mother break down and cry right there in the classroom because she wishes so much that they had not had to move and take her out of our class. I miss her, too. She's very intelligent, very serious but an absolute delight. I was sweating like a hog in Dillard's, and I was beginning to think I was having some sort of hot flash or something (happy wedding). Then I got home, and I started having one of those fun hypoglycemic moments when you can't get the jar of peanut butter open fast enough to make yourself the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich which is the only thing that will make you feel better in a moment like that. Then I ate some organic cereal. Can someone please tell me how to get motivated to exercise on a regular basis. Not because I am preparing for a wedding, but because I know it's good for me. I don't want to be a big blob. Now or ever. But I feel like that's what I am. I should probably take a moment to realize that I am thinking irrationally and to glance at the calendar to see which part of my demonic menstrual cycle I am on at this instant. No wonder pregnant women "glow." They aren't having to deal with the altnerative abomination. Geez. Christi, how do you REALLY feel about it. Invitations have gone out, most of them anyway. Can someone come up and clean and pack my house for me? That would be a great wedding present. I need to go to sleep. I've been up way too late by my standards the past few nights. If it's in the double digits, it's too late for me on a school night. And we are hovering near those now. Night night.

Progress

So, the firethroat was, in fact, strep throat, which in all of my years, I have never had. And now I have. May it be the first and last time. First of all, it was horrible pain, and I have a notoriously high tolerance for pain. That pain, however, I could live without. I felt like it took all the muscles in my entire upper body to force myself to swallow. Even if it WAS just my own spit. Never mind a drink of water or tea. Second, I cannot imagine feeling like that if I were a kid. My ears were hurting, and I have no recollection of childhood earaches, but I can totally see how a child might act out in class or be REALLY grumpy if they were in earache-land. My school nurse probably hates me because I send students down when I notice they are more lethargic or less bouncy than usual -- I do not have the ability to feel a forehead and determine if there is fever, but I would say that my accuracy rate for guessing it's a fever based on behavioral clues is about 90%. Before the firethroat put me down for the weekend, we were able to find Jeorgia and Hope's flower girly dresses at Macy's on mega-sale, and my mom found her dress and shoes for the wedding. That was a big check-mark off the list of things to do. The invitations should arrive on my doorstep today, according to DHL's shipping information on the internet, says Chris, and Karyn is coming to spend the night Thursday and Friday to help do some addressing. The invitation/address list is almost complete, and that's a good feeling, too. We are going to work on the "order of service" this weekend, too, and I am hoping to get that nailed down. Chris has totally changed the look of the web site to look less like Halloween (his description) and more like our actual wedding colors/theme. Big asset, having his talents at our disposal! We are going to look at our engagement portrait proofs on Saturday, and then we are trekking to Marshall to have a look at some reception site options. Believe it or not, it is STILL up in the air. It's frustrating, but so far, I have not let it wear me down (unless that's what I can attribute the strep throat to?). I just want everyone who comes to the party to have a great time and to be really glad they decided to make the trip, whether across town or across the country. I am going to Julie's mom's house this afternoon to see if she is going to be able to do the alterations on my dress that I need. If I don't stop eating, it won't need any -- I will fill it out just fine! But that will not be the case. We returned to Park Cities Baptist Church on Sunday morning to re-visit their Nearly Wed class, primarily just to let them know that we are getting married. We (mostly I) are going to be out of town several weekends between now and the wedding, so we could not attend them all, but it was interesting to be there again. It's just a helpful and thought-provoking class. More people should look to have their thoughts provoked before getting too deeply involved in a relationship. It is time to jump in the shower. Or step lightly. Yeah, I'll do that.

Firethroat

My throat hurts so bad that I have taken to numbing it in order to be able to swallow my own spit without crying.

Photo Shoot

Just got home from a photo session with Chris where we sat for engagement portraits. It was super-fun. The photographer, Candice White, was super-laid-back and fun, and we had a good time being serious AND silly. Of which we both are, quite regularly. We had a clothes change or two, and we stood, and we sat, and we squatted. I cannot wait to see the proofs! My friend Richard just called from New Orleans to discuss his visit to Texas for The Event. Very exciting. He is one fun dude. And we just had a hilarious spontaneous memory about something that happened a few years ago -- I love that. Anyway, he's putting in for his vacation today, and he plans, in true Richard style, to attend every fiesta we have that week. He'll probably find a way to make a fiesta where there was not one before, too! Anyway, back to the photo shoot -- the photographer's name is Candice White, and she was really easy to smile for, so I hope the pics turn out great. Perhaps you will see one in your favorite local newspaper sometime soon. I am writing a Personal Cultural Analysis for my Counseling the Culturally Diverse Client class right now, even though it is not due until Valentine's Day. I have the time and brain power right now, so I figured if I can knock that one out, I should get 'er done. I have to watch some films for this class, too, so that's kind of exciting! Back to that paper now. The photographer was playing an album by an artist named Grace Potter, and I've just bought two of her albums on iTunes, so now I have a soundtrack for the work at hand. Oh, and by the way, hi, Joyce! Hope you are having a fun Saturday!

Aflutter

Today, after work, I went to do some beauty stuff. I love beauty stuff. I'm trying out this bare escentuals stuff. They told me I can bring it back if I have any reaction to it. It looks really natural as best I can tell, and that's what I am going for. I also needed some hair stuff, and the store I went to had MOP products, which I love. And some of them were even on 75% off sale! Anyhoo, I also picked up a few items of clothing because Chris and I are having an official engagement portrait session tomorrow. Muy excited! Anyway, I hope we look cute. Of course, right now, I have a huge scratch on my nose, but that's why God made Photoshop, right? I don't usually have a big scratch on my nose, so I have NO qualms with making that correction for posterity's sake. I am muy sleepy and quite cold, so I might go to sleep soon. I am having breakfast tomorrow with a former coworker whom I miss so very much I just realized I have tried to not think about how much because it will just make it worse. She's someone who has a genuine passion for helping kids, and that spirit is something that I am lacking in my midst these days. Time for yogurt.

Unrelated Oscars Thing

How do I know when my mind is stretched too thin? When the Oscar nominations come out on 1/22/2008, and I don't even THINK to look at them until 6:15 am on the 23rd! Anyhoo, although I have not been a very faithful cinema-goer in the past year, I did discover this, upon reading through the noms: I have actually met and chatted with one of the nominees for Best Actor in a Supporting Role! One year, at the Sundance Film Festival, I was invited to a private party featuring some of my favorite songwriters (Emmylou Harris, Patty Griffin, David Baerwald), who wound up doing their "show" sitting on barstools in the tiny living room of a mountainside condo. And Casey Affleck was one of the actors invited as well. We chatted for a while and learned we were big fans of these same writers. It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world. He's tiny. FYI. It was sort of cooler the time I met Anthony Hopkins, but the Casey Affleck thing was much more casual and far less like a crazed woman from Texas running up to meet Hannibal Lecter while he was being the Grand Marshal of a 4th of July parade in Pacific Palisades, California, with his grandchildren. I'm not sayin'. I'm just sayin'.

Excitement!

Tonight, I found out that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, all three songwriters that I signed while in Nashville are coming to sing at our wedding! How cool is that? I am so honored. You will love them and their amazingly talented and kind-hearted selves. The muscles in my neck and shoulders are about as tense as they have ever been. Thankfully, it has nothing to do with wedding planning. All of that is going quite well. It has to do with trying to be an effective kindergarten teacher, administering state-mandated testing, attending graduate school, AND weaving in planning a wedding with all of the above. I have not been able to see Chris in over a week, and he asked me out on a date for Saturday. We are spending the afternoon at Grapevine Mills mall to use some Christmas gift cards, then going out to eat and then on to a place called Love & War In Texas, to hear my friend Austin Cunningham play a show. It will be big fun. I'm just excited to get together and just chill out with Chris. It looks like things are coming together for the downtown reception -- we appear to have the blessing of both county and city officials. Now, we need to get the paperwork and applications and permits all set in place. I am very "get everything in writing"-oriented, so I am looking forward to closing that deal with as few speedbumps as possible. It also looks like we have decided to have the Dallas fiesta at what will be "our" house by March 22nd! We are going to kick home cleaning and improvements into high gear over the next little while (I told Chris that although "domestic goddess" is not a term anyone would use to describe me, I can definitely play house when I am under the gun!). I love it! Today was my last day with students until Tuesday, and I have to say that I am beyond thrilled about that fact. We have a teacher work day tomorrow, and Monday is a holiday for MLK Jr. Day. I learned tonight that it looks like I am going to be reading a chapter or two from about six different textbooks over the course of the semester, but I believe I am going to really enjoy both classes (Elementary School Counseling and Counseling The Diverse Client). The second one is very experiential, and three of our assignments actually are to watch movies and write papers about them. Movies and writing! Two of my absolute favorite pastimes. Does anyone ever watch "The Real Housewives of Orange County"? I do. There, I said it. And now, there is a "Real Housewives of New York City." All Greek to me. On the OC one, there is one wife who is spending more on her wedding dress than our entire wedding will wind up costing. Out of my realm of comprehension. Interesting. I am going to look at a book now. And highlight some key points. Then I am going to sleep with the knowledge that I only have to be around grown-ups tomorrow! Hooray!

Wedding-Free

I have tried to really rein in the worry gene with the wedding planning. I prayed about it, and I asked God to just help me find and maintain some balance. I went to grad school tonight, and I believe it's going to be okay. I spent the weekend . . . well, you know how I spent the weekend. Last night, I blew through Hobby Lobby to make a few notes on some accessories and their availability and cost, and then I went to David's Bridal to flop the Persimmon over top of the Watermelon to make sure that one did not overpower the other. Then I sort of wanted to smack the sales girl at the store in Shreveport who balked at the color combination -- it's featured on their web site for heaven's sake. She probably doesn't have a computer. Anyway, all is well, and so what if they are bright? The wedding is the flippin' first day of spring! Bright is called for. Why, you ask, am I awake, when I usually sack out between 8:30 and 9:30? Because I thought it would be a good idea to pop in the Netflix DVD that came in the mail today -- the first season of Brothers & Sisters! That is why I hardly ever watch television anymore. And if I do, I digitally record it so I can spare myself the commercial breaks, and I can save the episodes up for a rainy day when I did not have plans anyway. That way, I do not have to feel like I am being bled dry by the television industry. It is a pretty good show. I watched all four episodes on the disc. Good thing I did not order the next one for delivery at the same time, or I'd probably go to work directly from having watched the EIGHTH episode! Instead, I just went to pee, got a chunky peanut butter fix, and now I am back in the bed. Going to sleep now. Pray for my Chris. He has an important meeting at work tomorrow. And pray for me. Because I am *****'s teacher. And it's wearing me down.

Swirling Ideas

Something that sort of sounds good right now is a swirling margarita. Ordinarily, I stick to the green ones, but mixing it up is a little intriguing in this very moment. I am so tired, however, that it would really be a wasted opportunity. I just got home from graduate school, and I think the class is going to be an enjoyable. I have discovered that an organized professor really makes for a positive experience. One can also tell quite a bit about a professor's experiences in the classroom thus far depending on how they conduct the first class meeting. If they insist on going through the syllabus line-by-line, even reading it aloud perhaps, one can deduce that their experience has been that even graduate students are a little irresponsible from time to time. It is probably also safe to assume that their basic wish is that you have an enjoyable experience and that you succeed. Thus, the extra attention to detail. So. Working full time. Going to graduate school and working on a Masters degree at night. Planning a wedding. I say this calls for skipping right over Calgon and going straight to Xanax. What say ye? Of course, almost all the information I gleaned in advance about what textbooks would be required for the class was declared virtually useless tonight. Of the two books I bought that were called "required" on the university web site, one is optional. And there are three others I have to purchase, none of which are available in the bookstore. Two of those are not available online anywhere. Delight. We shall find a way, shan't we? Okay. Wedding. Today's inquest had to do with doing a little research on projected costs of permits to have the reception on Peter Whetstone Square (I really like that name) in downtown Marshall. That's what we really want to do, and we are awaiting some news from the city and the county. If we get the green light, then begins the logistical nightmare: tent, chairs, table, tablecloth rentals; from where will we get power for sound and lights?; sound; lights. Maybe it's not such a nightmare. It's just a lot to manage. We will have great wine, thanks to the generous gift of a good friend. Fresh from Italy and Australia. In fact, it might be the only place in Texas you can sample any of the three varieties. More on this later. On the way home, as I was belting out a Lionel Richie song, it actually occurred to me the silliness of having karaoke at the wedding party. I've never even done it, can you believe that? So, doing it at my own wedding is probably not the ideal place to start. The cool thing is that most of the people I know can actually sing. So that probably would not be any fun since half the good time is probably laughing at the horrible-ness. For that, people can just tune in to that American Idol horror. What else? Do we want to do wedding favors? I really have no desire to have my name printed on napkins or bottles of bubbles or matchbooks or whatever. And I have never been keen on giving people stuff to throw at me while I try to outrun them, struggling not to slip and fall on rice or bird seed. So that's out. Does anyone know what's behind that tradition, anyway? Now, if you want to throw money at someone, I'm your girl. Sign me up! But, I doubt that will be an idea well-received. Just a thought. I think I am going to go take a bubble bath now with my good friend, Mr. Bubbles. Several months ago, shortly after the fall semester began, I was beyond stressed, and Chris came over with a gift for me: two bottles of wine and a bottle of Mr. Bubbles! I did not know which to open first! Sweet, huh? He's mine. Talk of freezing rain here in the next few days. I'm split on whether I want it or not. If we don't have it, I get a 4 day weekend in May. If we do have it, I don't. By that time, I'm sure I'll be working weekends anyway to finish paperwork, so I guess I don't care. I've got some good DVD's I'd surely like to lie in bed and watch on a cold winter's day, so . . . to be determined.

Successful Weekend

Wow. What a weekend. The only time I left my house was to go to Kroger. Other than that, the only time I was around other people was when I had to get my brother to stop by to help me to un-wedge the sofa I got stuck standing up in the hallway. I successfully maneuvered the iron bed from my guest room into my computer room, but in order to do that, first I had to remove the sofa from the computer room. No problem. The problem occurred, however, when I tried to move the sofa into the guest room (aka Launch Pad for packing, sorting, purging and packing again). So there it was, standing up diagonally in my hallway, propped up by its enormity, in between the two door facings. I sent Jason a text message asking if he could help me, and his immediate response was, "Sure." No less than two minutes later, he, Jodi, and Jeorgia were here, dressed in their Sunday best. Huh? They had been at church nearby and just swung onto my street on their way home. So, he assesses the situation, tells me it's not going into that room. When I tell him I took from the room at the END of the hall, he began to reconsider. Then he said, "Um, it would help if you removed the legs first." Oh. Yep, that would help. They are at least five inches tall, adding that much width to the sofa. I looked at Jodi and said, "Sometimes, being book smart isn't all that helpful in situations like this." Not to say that I am not both street-smart AND a person of sufficient common sense. It's just that when you are faced with a ginormous sofa crushing you to your death ten weeks before you are finally going to get married, common sense sort of takes the day off. Back to When Harry Met Sally. " . . . or maybe you're trapped under something heavy." Chris was working on a video for Winston, literally all weekend, and we did not get to see each other at all. In fact, we only talked briefly Sunday afternoon, long enough for him to say that he thought he might be getting sick and that he was going to go to bed early because he felt really exhausted from having spent so much time editing and composing and all that this weekend. I wish everyone knew how much time and energy he dedicates to those projects. They are literally all-consuming. The final product is always, always top-notch and quite professional, so of course that makes everyone think it must be something he can do with the touch of a button. But in the world of templates and all things automated, he insists on doing the work as if it were a major production. Because that's how he rolls. Like a pro. That's one of the reasons I love him. Grad school night classes start on Tuesday night, and I am not sure if that will be a blessing or a curse. I have to say that I rather enjoyed my 17-hour days this weekend. Both days, I was awake by 5:30 am (not on purpose. That's how I roll!), and I really did get quite a lot done. There are five big bags by the curb, I sent a box of fun kid stuff home with Jeorgia yesterday, and I have made a little better sense of what is left in that one room. It is not complete, but now, at least, I have a comfy sofa in there to sit on while I sort through what is left. Oh! Yesterday, in the quest, I came across a file full of old emails I had printed out when switching computers about 8-9 years ago. I found some funny stuff. Primarily attributable to Scott Morris and Cyndi Forman (or exchanges among the three of us) -- gosh, we had a blast! Back in the day. I also found deal memos from NBC detailing some of my first song placements on the TV show Providence. What a fun deal that was -- especially when they began to use one of the songs on all their season finale promo spots. Very emotional! (That song, by the way, is one of the best of all time called "Let The Sun Fall Down" by Kim Richey). Okay, back to funny emails. I found this one between me and a girl who worked at Mercury Records: Me: "Hey, there, Georgie girl. Are we will still gonna get lunch today? How pathetic is it that the cereal bowl just left my lips, and I'm craving lunch already? Pretty pathetic, let me tell you. Where do you want to go and at what time? I will pretty much eat anything, especially today, since I am at the height of PMS (more than you wanted or needed to know, I'm sure). Let me re-cap the weekend for you: Friday night: do nothing. Go for margaritas with friends. Order steak. With trimmings. Consume rapidly. Saturday: Have protein shake for breakfast (steak in a glass). Lay on bed majority of day, talking on phone and watching "Real World" re-runs (more addictive than crack cocaine). Go to grocery store. Buy chicken, beef ribs, and other unidentifiable meat product. Get excited about eating. Stop at grocery store pay phone to call friends to invite over for binge-fest. Get invited to their house instead. Pay. Decide to satisfy craving for grape slush and corn dog (with mustard) at Sonic Drive-In (not on my way home). Go to friend's house. More margaritas, but not too many. Eat pork chops (equivalent to body weight) and baked potatoes and chips of all varieties. Fall asleep. Then go home. Sunday: Wake up late. Go to church with friend. Stop for bagel and cream cheese (lite or regular? 'regular please') and a double iced mocha (also somewhat like crack cocaine). Come home. Make tacos for 12. Eat 6. Lay around. Fall asleep. Contemplate going to movies. Go to Phonoluxe instead. Spend .35 cents more than if had gone to movies. Come home. Invite friend over to watch Varsity Blues on pay-per-view. Crave pancakes (or waffles). Go to store. Buy Hungry Jack pancake/waffle mix. Friend arrives with bacon. Cook all in package and make 4 pancakes each. Drench in butter and syrup. Disgust self. (More than movie disgusts self). Eat only 1/3 of pancake supper but all of bacon. Since it had touched the warm syrup and had become delicacy item in process. Talk on phone. Lay on bed. Go to sleep. Monday: Raisin bran with 1% milk in hopes of undoing damage of weekend. Remember having lunch plans. Begin thinking about food all over again. So, where do you want to go? I'm starving!?!?!!" END OF EMAIL (1999) Maybe that is why I weighed 200 pounds when I left Nashville. Ya think?

Purge to Merge

I just learned a tragic lesson about this program. It does not autosave your words. And i sassily thought I was goign to upload an image into this entry, and in my haste, I forgot to push "save, and all was lost. Of course, I do not have the will to re-create it all in this moment. Suffice it to say that I was telling you this whole big story about going through all my stuff and trying to decide what to keep and what to give away and what to kick to the curb. To make a long story less long. Now, I want a nap. I will not get a nap. Because my bed is covered in junk. Which probably means I could save myself some time by simply choosing to chunk it all in the trash, lest I end up like that crazy lady on Oprah who had 10,000 square feet of crap in her 3,000 square foot home, and her kids quit visiting her, and she really thought that one day, she was going to use the 3,000 purses or handbags. She gives me high self-esteem.