Things I'm learning, mainly about myself, as our wedding comes ever closer:
Planning a wedding has only made me even MORE obsessed with organization. My life is basically maintained on my Google Calendar, and now that I have my Droid, I'm even more reliant on the calendar to keep myself straight. This is especially beneficial when wedding stuff crops up and I am away from home/computers in general. My calendar is my lifeline in keeping all of the different payments, due dates, and various to-dos in check. I'd be hopelessly lost without out. And for that, Google Calendar, I thank thee heartily.
What I've also mastered in planning is that I've become a (self-professed) financial guru. Not only do I manage "regular" bills, but it's now at the point in planning that we have to think about when payments are due to various vendors, how to make the payments coincide with paychecks, and when to mail things so they arrive on time. This morning I did a marathon of financial planning to think out photographer payments. An easy enough task alone, but when coupled with other deadlines and such, the bigger picture is a bit hairy.
Sometimes I feel like an incredible grown up. haha Another triumph includes planning a big vacation, aka honeymoon, which is BOOKED. We will be in Disney for a week. AWE. SOME. We get to book our restaurant reservations in May, meaning...more planning. We've narrowed down where we'll be on what days, and thus planned our meals and restaurants accordingly. We'll be down there for the Food and Wine Festival, so that'll be a really fun day in Epcot. Luckily, we have a private Disney guru in one of my BFFs at work, who has basically grown up in the Mouse's backyard.
Not necessarily related to the wedding, too, is the fact that I am about to (almost) pay off the balance on my credit card using my federal refund money. Paying off the credit card is a victory of a few sorts. Firstly, I'll finish payments about 4 months ahead of my initial 12-month plan (thank you balance transfer with no interest for first year!). Check. Secondly, in paying off the balance, I will finally be able to put my unemployment behind me. Check. The balance ballooned mainly after Hammy's hospitalization last year, as well as having to foot some grocery shopping and other charges while I was scraping pennies from my unemployment checks. Thirdly, I can finally invest in things I've been putting off for a loooong time, like replacing the laptop on which I am currently typing. The processor is so old that it really struggles to have a brainwave, taking an obscene amount of time to boot up and be functional. Better days are ahead. I can almost feel the smooth new keys beneath my fingers now. That said, current computer, I still need you--hang in there!
Other general observations about wedding planning: it's hard to accept that I can't please everyone individually and that I have to know that everyone is happy for us, and everyone will have a good time, and yes, everyone will even have something to eat. A big stressor has been the menu...there are diets, allergies, and diet preferences to consider. But you know what? We do our best, and everyone will be fine. Another stressor is hotel rooms and the following equation:
Ceremony Location PLUS Reception Location
DIVIDED BY 40 minute drive in between
TIMES lots of out of town guests from both north and south
EQUALS Maureen's head exploding
But again, people will deal, be happy, and maybe have to be a bit inconvenienced. And it will all be okay.
And of course we have yet to find a DJ and limo (last two big things to check off our list), and then it's all the small details--shoes, jewelry, centerpieces, hair style, nail color, bouquets--that will haunt me until I'm on the plane heading to Disney. It's mainly a fabrication problem. We see it in our heads, it's just a matter of making it in real life.
Oh yeh, I guess I should also acknowledge that I clearly survived my surgery. Two weeks later, I'm feeling basically normal, but so much better than my old normal. I can BREATHE, and breathe deeply and wonderfully. Singing feels so much better, and even just walking feels better now that I'm not passing out from lack of oxygen. My nose is still a bit swollen inside, and is still a bit tender to the touch, but it gets better every day, and this sinus rinse (similar to a Neti Pot, but it doesn't look like a jacked teapot) is amazing--I'm keeping it up even after I'm healed cuz it's pure bliss to have a free and clear nasal passages (read: no boogers! LMAO).
So that's all for now. More to come as more happens. And I'll try and get some pics up here in an upcoming spring post. I wanna take pics around Princeton's campus as trees and plants begin to bloom. There are small suggestions that spring is coming, and I'm anxious for it to arrive. I'm over bundling up.
