sick

You know, they warn you about this kind of thing.  There's an article in practically every wedding magazine about staying healthy while you wrap up last-minute planning.  They tell you to drink lots of water and watch the caffeine and eat right and get plenty of sleep and to keep the stress in check.

And I did all of that, I tell you.  I really did.  And what do I get for it?  Strep throat.

It's certainly not the end of the world.  Boy, am I glad it's happening now and not, say, twenty-three days from now.  And we've managed to keep most of the wedding prep on track, so it's not like there's a giant to-do list hanging over my head.  (Okay, there kind of is, but I refuse to be afraid of it, at this point.)

Mostly, I am just very bad at being sick.  I don't like lying around all helpless and gross.  I don't like not doing something.  It makes me--itchy.

For now, though, there's me, the antibiotics, a box of popsicles, and the entire second season of Grey's Anatomy.  Another day of two of wandering around the house probably won't kill me.  Maybe it's even a good thing.

dreams

I am officially having wedding nightmares.  I'll admit, I kind of thought I'd be immune to that sort of thing. The closer we get to W-Day, the more I seem to be learning about myself.

A few nights ago, I dreamed that all of our beautiful invitations turned up in our mailbox, returned to sender. Apparently, there'd been some kind of mix-up with the addresses.  Kind of a strange thing for my subconscious to obsess about at this point, given the fact that nearly all of our RSVP's have already come home to roost.

The night before that, the nightmare consisted of my crawling along a sidewalk for what seemed like hours and hours, looking for my missing engagement ring.  At first, it just seemed that only the pretty little stone was missing from the ring, but as the dream went along, it turned out that the ring itself had entirely disappeared.  I never did find the silly thing.

Go ahead.  Tell me I'm crazy.  I dare you to.

rules

I don't even know where to begin, friends.

I spent the better part of today doing things that are extremely outside my comfort zone.  To begin with, I bought some makeup--for the first time in about a decade.  This required actually going to a makeup counter and asking questions about makeup.  Also, letting an incredibly up-beat twenty-something put makeup on my face.  This was all much more nerve-wracking than I can begin to describe here.

And then, there are the shoes.  I spent all day today looking for a pair of shoes.  I don't understand why this part has become so difficult.  It's not like I'm after something outrageous.  My criteria are pretty simple:  Flats, probably in a neutral color, probably leather, without any buckles or bows or little metal studs in them.  Also, no extra-pointy toes.  Just nice normal shoes.

Apparently, these shoes exist only in my imagination.  I've looked everywhere.  The thrift store, the Internet, and now every store within walking distance of downtown Seattle.  I went into stores I've never ventured into before, some of which I'm embarrassed to actually name here.

Along with all the trendy teen stores, I tried the big department stores, too.  And that's where I found my dream shoes.

I know, the Swarovski crystals are kind of breaking the "no buckles or bows" rule.  I don't care.  I still want them.

And I can't have them.  I know that.  I knew it before I tried them on.  (And allow me to emphasize here: This afternoon, I put my dirty little feet in a pair of shoes that are allegedly worth more than the pittance that is currently masquerading as our honeymoon fund.  Absolutely crazy.)  The whole thing was definitely a lesson, though, in why you should not try on clothes that you have no intention of buying.  Once the saleslady put those fancy little princess shoes on my feet, it was very, very hard to take them off again.

I don't like that I'm angsting over things like makeup and expensive shoes.  It makes me worry that all this wedding silliness might be compromising the woman I think I am.

Which is why I fully intend to spend the rest of my weekend gardening and cooking good food and hanging out with my man and figuring out how to make a wedding "headpiece" out of three dollar's worth of fabric remnants from Jo-Ann Fabrics.  Because that is exactly the kind of woman I want to be.

Happy weekend!

quick hello

I'm working on a (temporarily) top-secret project today.  If it turns out well, I'll have something fun to share with you tomorrow.

In the meantime, take a look at yesterday's post from Souris Mariage.  If you're struggling a little bit with all of the silliness that the wedding industry is tossing around, Mouse's refreshing little list will resonate like a cleansing mantra.  I promise.