I love Myra!

A few weeks ago, I was reading the Etsy Wedding Blog and read about Myra Callan who makes custom designed hair ornaments for special occasions. Man, are these things beautiful, I thought. I wrote her a message on Etsy and she replied promptly with a price quote and ideas for the design. When she had the piece completed and I felt it was maybe a bit too large (I have a small head, okay?), she re-made it for me a little bit smaller. She is incredibly understanding and will do pretty much anything to make you happy, and I highly recommend her pieces for special events, or even just something fun to wear for a night out. I keep trying on my piece and wearing it around, forgetting it's even there because it's so light. I'm so excited to wear it on my wedding day, and even after that!

The things you have to decide

In my wildest imagination, I never once thought of having to plan a wedding and think about the kind of things I have to think about now that we're about 4 and a half months from our wedding date. The latest thing I'm focusing on: flowers. I want to have a nice bouquet but I don't want to spend a lot, and I also don't want the huge bridal bouquet. I want a smaller, lighter bouquet, since I have gimpy wrists that get tired quite easily. Plus, my dress is fairly simple (see previous post) so I want my bouquet to be in line with that style.

So, I found fiftyflowers.com and growersbox.com and I think I want to create something like these:




Also, I found some bouquets that feature a pretty little flower, hypericum, and I really like them. This is one that I really like, just not in those colors. Since my dress is ivory and my shoes are red, I think I could go with mostly ivory flowers (the calla lilies and the roses) and then a few red hypericum berries thrown in for some color. Oh, decisions, decisions. With the Grower's Box flowers and the Fifty Flowers sites, I could have plenty of flowers to work with for both my bouquet, a boutonniere for S, and centerpieces for our restaurant reception.

Two fun things and one icky thing

Today, S and I are headed to the cities for some water park fun with some of his cousins. I'm pretty excited since it's been months and months since I've been swimming, and now that the weather is warming up, my spring fever is getting better, but I think the day at the water park may cure it entirely. That, and the fact that I can now bike again. Huzzah! I actually went out on Tuesday night after work to just stretch my legs again, and it felt great.

This evening, I'm singing in a special mass at church, so we're going to have to leave the water park a bit earlier than everyone else, but I'm looking forward to singing. The cathedral gathers these "festival choirs" from among everyone in the diocese for their special event masses, so it's a fairly large group, and the music is awesome.

One thing that sucks about spring is the onslaught of boxelder bugs. I think my dad needs to do some sealing of our house, because I kill three bugs a day, at least. I'm not afraid of bugs, especially not boxelder bugs, because they don't bite or sting or anything, but when they're just randomly on my desk or my floor in my house, I kind of get the creeps. Plus, they're just ugly!

Some weird things

My cousin Jess has challenged me to write about some weird things that I do, so I will attempt to explain some of what makes me weird (though probably not that weird).

1. My cousin Simon noticed that I do this. While eating, I usually have to be talking to someone or reading something. If I am talking to someone, I frequently stop eating and focus on talking, thus leaving my food alone. When I am talking to S and eating, S reminds me to eat. If I'm eating with someone else, they may think I am done with my food before I really am. And, if I'm alone and eating, if I don't have something to read, I feel very awkward, even if it's just breakfast at my own table.

2. The only thing I ever imagined about my wedding before S and I actually talked about it was what I would eat: tiramisu. Pretty much every wedding plan I've made thus far is merely to get me to the point where I am at the reception, eating that very tiramisu. I am very excited about it actually happening.

3. All my CDs are shelved in alphabetical order by artist. All of my books, however, are shelved according to made-up genres.

4. I will have a beer on a whim (S thinks this is weird, whereas I think it's just his fault he got me to like beer). To me, a beer is like a snack.

5. I've blogged for over 10 years, before the word "blog" even existed. S also wants to me to add that he made contact with me again (post high school) via that very old blog, and without it, we probably would not be together right now.

Quick update during my crazy week

I have a really busy week ahead, but thankfully I am done with my homework (mostly) for my next two classes. I have a bit more work to do on a project for Minnesota Storytime (www.minnesotastorytime.org) but I'm confident that my partner and I will have it done by Sunday.

In addition to starting our premarital sessions at church this week, S and I need to get down to business on some other wedding-y details. We booked our reception venue (a local restaurant) on the weekend, and as long as my parents are okay with it (and the price of it...) then that will be our place, which is a relief. Church and reception down, only details to follow.

I was the 'special guest' at storytime today at work, helping out one of the children's staff people. It went really well, and I was surprised how well-behaved the children were. Sure, a few of them were talkative and pointed out things that were unrelated to the happenings, but that was part of the fun. I read "Quick as a Cricket" by Audrey Wood, "Tumble Bumble" by Felicia Bond, and "Bear Wants More" by Karma Wilson, and the children's staff person read "I Like Me" by Nancy Carlson and did a felt-board story that was very cool, plus opening and closing songs. All in all, a very good experience.

Later this week, I have a choir practice for a special church service occurring in two weeks, and then on Saturday, I have a JASNA MN (Jane Austen Society of North American Minnesota) event at the Edina Country Club with my good friend Eve (co-JASNA member). Oh, and a play to attend on Friday night! Ye gods, I really am busy this week.