4 days. That's FOUR days, people.

Nothing to do at work. Literally nothing. I'm going to be assigned to a new client, but that won't happen until I return from my honeymoon. Who wants a brand-new writer 4 days before her wedding? No one! Tomorrow is actually my last day, and my team is taking me out to lunch, which is awfully sweet. Makes up for the incredible awkwardness today.

I ran out for some tasti-d-lite after lunch, and when i returned, I ran into one of the executive assistants in the elevator lobby. She said to come downstairs because they were having cake for this guy who is getting married on Sunday (I knew he was, we've chatted a few times). So, totally without thinking, I said "me too!" and went downstairs because I couldn't exactly get out of it. Of course, word spread to the HR people who organized it, and they felt really bad that they threw one person a party and not both of us. They apologized and said "we didn't even know...and Neil's been here so long..." and I was totally gracious and told them not to think about it for a second, I was just happy to be able to share the fun with someone.

Of course, it was really awkward and I wish I had just come back a few minutes later and avoided the whole scene. Or had the ability to shut my mouth when she said his wedding was Sunday. But really, it's a totally natural thing to say. On June 3rd, if someone said it was their birthday, I'd say "me too!" too. Anyway, I am more excited about the team lunch with people who really care about me than the corporate-sponsored party with a ton of people I've never met coming for free cake.

We got a tremendous box from Bloomingdale's today. Big enough to fit a baby in, if you weren't too careful about the cushioning (I don't know why, but I keep using that analogy - am I sick?). Inside was a lot of paper and... a pizza cutting wheel. Which was indeed on our registry. It took several minutes of confusion to discover the packing slip on the floor next to all the paper, telling us that the friend who sent it had also bought us the tart plate off our registry. This was funny on so many levels - the giant box for the tiny gift, the fact that at first we thought someone really got us a pizza cutter as a wedding gift, and, only to me, the knowledge that this particular (male) friend certainly picked the tart plate very intentionally. Hehehe.

Ryan's sister says not to sweat his mother, and that she will behave. Good.

I am disjointed today. Sorry.

I stopped by to see our florist today (right down the block, pass him on the way home) and got sent home with such a beautiful peony. I think I'll go snap a picture.



Doesn't quite do it justice. But that's what I am going to have in my bridal bouquet, along with cream sweetpeas (typo fixed after Alison pointed out that I wrote "sweatpeas" - eeew). My florist is also working on getting snowberries, which I requested, but he's not sure if that will work. I'm excited about the flowers. It's been so fun to work with them, and they have been really inspired by my ideas, they said. Lots of wheatgrass with pretty fleurs. You'll see later.

Oh my! I wonder if I can make this fabulous skirt between now and Sunday. It would be so cute in Hawaii! Damn!

Lots of wedding progress this weekend. I am marrying the most fabulous guy ever. He has been so helpful in the past weeks, since he's finished his thesis. He's made our adorable programs, neato menu cards, and has been running lots of errands and stuff. He even offered to go buy me the yarn for this skirt! I wonder if Knitting Hands has it?

Oh, who am I fooling? That is NOT going to happen!

I got what I felt was a very impersonal birthday card from Ryan's mother yesterday. It was a jokey card, and was just signed "love, Ryan's Mom." OK, she wrote love, but she didn't write "Dear Betsy," or any other words on the whole page. It made me sad. And it made me angry. It made Ryan sad. And me getting angry made him angry. Nothing good can come of this, unfortunately.

I also realized that talking about it makes me feel worse. I think I need to just put it out of my mind. I know too much about how she feels to make that easy, but if I dwell on it, I am only going to get angrier and more hurt. And that's not how I want to feel on my wedding day. Or any other day, for that matter. So, I am going to try and call a moratorium on talking about her, in hopes that it will just fade a bit in my mind.

I'm meeting my maid of honor today to give her the very last of the bridesmaid tops. Yay! I still can't believe I actually finished such a tremendous project. I can't wait to have pictures of everyone wearing them for you guys!

This weekend we have to figure out our seating plan and print our programs. They are so cute! Ryan is so handy at that sort of thing. OK, that's not a shock, considering he used to be an art director. But still, it's so nice that he's good at stuff like that. I do the writing, he does the art, and we each consult on the other's work. Kinda how we met and fell in love, now that I think of it.

I think I'll take that happy thought with me, as I go spend the day surfing the web and taking a looooong lunch.

Gee, this is just what every girl needs 10 days before her wedding. An impromptu meeting in the President/CEO's office that starts "I wish we were gathered her for Betsy's bridal shower, but we all know that's not the case..." Well, the client I have been working on since November has officially jumped ship to another agency.

It's a long ugly story that starts in September of last year when the senior account and creative people decided to break off and form their own agency. As soon as their noncompete was up (3 months I think at the time) they started working with our client. To make the long story short, it has been contentious for a while between our agency and the client, and even though the agency has a very strong relationship with the company, and several other of their brands are totally solid here, it wasn't working. So, we've all been walking on eggshells, and at least now it's over.

She reassured us that we have a generous termination clause with the client, a big push for new business, and plenty of work throughout the agency, so that at least for now, everyone is safe. Just yesterday, our big boss had reassured me (in response to me joking about doing something that would get me canned) that I wouldn't be let go on her watch. Let's hope that's true.

At this point, 10 days out, I can't be any more tightly wound than I already am, so I am hardly noticing the increase in blood pressure and heart rate. I suppose when the blood vessels start bursting, I'll take some notice.

Yesterday was a nice, peaceful birthday. And I got a wonderful present from my sweetheart!

Yes, that is the Canon PowerShot S230 3.2MP Digital ELPH Camera w/ 2x Optical Zoom. It's so cute, and so little - about the size of a pack of cigarettes. I actually just had to go fact-check that statement by finding a colleague who smokes. It is almost exactly the same size, just a few mm thicker. I will be so psyched to have it on my honeymoon! I've wanted a small digital camera like this for a while, but didn't actually expect to receive it. Yay Ryan! Yay me!

We're almost done with the wedding programs. I wrote them a while ago, and Ryan's been tweaking the layout. They are really adorable. Simple, but with a cute little twist. I'll try and get a picture sometime.

I'm on hold with the yarmulke people trying to fix the error in Ryan's last name. The "P" after the apostrophe should be upper case but came in lower case. Small error, but still an error. The woman I am talking to has an odd clipped accent that I can't place. She just said we should have the new ones Tuesday or Wednesday. OK, that's good.

Spoke to the photographer this morning. He wants us all to meet at the Garden by 9:15 the day of the wedding. Oy. I dread telling my bridesmaids that. Well, actually only my maid of honor, who has been whining about having to get there. Fuck off, it's your best friend's wedding, you can drag your sorry ass out of the house early for once, since you haven't done anything else to help with this thing.

Bitter much, Betsy?

I have been a lazy little blogger, haven't I? Resting on my bridesmaid top laurels, I suppose.

Now I'm just whoring for attention because it is my birthday! I just had a yummy cheesecake here at work, and tonight Ryan is taking me to Joe's Shanghai for soup dumplings. Yum!

Very excited to hear the good news about Shetha's new baby! He is just the most darling little pumpkin. Follow the links to the pics and you can see how cute Mom looks so soon after giving birth. Yay Shetha!

12 days and counting 'til the wedding. Ryan is finishing laying out our programs. I'm letting everyone know when/where the rehearsal (except there's no rehearsal since it's a Jewish wedding) dinner is. My dress is finally all done and will be picked up by my parents a day or two before the wedding. All but one bridesmaid has her tank top, and I will remedy that situation this week. Bridesmaids and groomsmen gifts are purchased, just need to be wrapped. The imprinted yarmulkes came with Ryan's last name misspelled (apparently they don't get a lot of Irish names with apostrophes!) but they said they can fix it no problem and get it to us in time since they are in Brooklyn, too.

A few other details remain, like picking readers for each of the seven blessings. Asked one person, need to ask six more. Dunno why we left this 'til the end. It's only a few sentences at most, and it's not like people need to memorize anything.

I ordered the yarn from Knitting Hands for the ocean-themed baby blanket for Lisa's new baby. They said it will be about a week. That means I can start it on my honeymoon, and it should be done in time for his christening at the end of August. Yay!

Well, I figured out the mitred corners. After I put the whole neck on a circular needle, I needed to put markers in each of the corners, which I realized, but which was not mentioned in the pattern. Once I figured that out, the whole thing was a piece of cake. Mmm, cake.

So, do you realize what this means?

I AM FINISHED!!!!

Yes, each top has been knitted, finished, and has a cute little label sewn in the back of the neck.

Since the last one is the closest to my size, here I am modeling it for you.





Here are three of the four - the fourth one is already safe at home with Leanne. I think it worked out nicely that all three bridesmaids wanted a v-neck, and the maid of honor wanted a square neck. (Also please note our groovy new Hawaiian-print bedding in this shot!)



And just because it's so cute, here's the label I sewed inside each one. (I got them from Charm Labels in case you want to order some yourself.)



Now what? Do I dare start on the cute ocean-themed baby blanket I am going to make for Lisa's new son? Aha, first I have to buy yarn. Looks like it's TV time for me tonight!

I'm having trouble with the stupid mitred corners on the neckband of the last bridesmaid top, which is a square neck. Urgh. I think I just need to pull out the 2 rows I did and try it again, being a bit more careful this time. If that doesn't work, be prepared for the cry for help!

Yesterday we brought Ryan's tux to be tailored, and then went to see the Matrix Reloaded. I enjoyed it, though some of the action scenes just felt a little gratuitous and I am just not buying the romance between the two emotionally bankrupt stars. Still, it was a thought-provoking and highly entertaining flick and I will certainly look forward to seeing the final part of the trilogy at Christmastime.

After that I went and had a trial of my wedding hair. Verdict is: guilty! OK, he did this loose curly updo that I thought was very pretty, and when I met Ryan afterwards (sans veil and headpiece) his whole body language and tone just said "eh." It was pretty awful. This is the guy who thinks I'm hot when I stick my hair up in a big clip, so for him to have such a lukewarm reaction to a professional 'do was stunning and devastating. Especially since it's my wedding hair. Normally I'm not that concerned (maybe because normally he thinks I'm gorgeous) but this really threw me into the dumps for the evening. Not sure what I'll do, but I have an appointment for a trim on Wednesday (same hairdresser) so I guess we will discuss then.

Still freezing here at 53 degrees. I can't believe this is Memorial Day weekend. We've had some pretty lame weather for this weekend other years, usually when I have beach plans, but this takes the cake. It really sucks. I think we're cleaning the house today, then tonight we've got dinner plans with some friends at a Brazilian rodizio restaurant - meat, meat, and then some more meat!

Whew, what a busy few days. I am finally settling down enough to post.

So, I woke up Sunday with plans to go out to Leanne's house for a late lunch and a yarn sale in Port Jefferson. I also woke up with a raging migraine, a sore throat, and a giant zit on my chin. Oh, and suspicions that this was really not a yarn sale, which I think I mentioned before. I felt so awful that I was dreading the possibility of it being a shower. Before I got in the shower, I actually told Ryan that if this was my bridal shower I would kill myself.

Well, when I walked in the door and everyone shouted "SURPRISE!" I didn't pull out the shotgun and off myself, but I did cry. I choked up on and off for the first hour. It was just overwhelming. Lisa and her mother drove down from Albany, leaving Lisa's hub alone with the newborn that they just adopted 2 weeks ago. They must've gotten up at 5am to be there. I was SO touched that they were there! I would've totally understood if she couldn't have made it, but it meant so much to me that she did. Most of my friends were there, and some of my cousins, particularly my cousin Jill, whose birthday it was. That was really sweet of her to be there even on her birthday. Ryan even surprised me by taking the train (since I had the car) and a cab there. Poor guy took almost 2 hours to get there, so the ladies voted to let him stay, which was really nice. My Dad was there, too, so he wasn't the only boy anymore.

The food was amazing. Leanne outdid herself with a full brunch buffet including finger sandwiches, poached salmon, cheese plate, mini quiches with shiitake mushrooms and swiss chard, and a nice salad. Then she put on a full dessert buffet! This AMAZING cake was the centerpiece.



Then there were all my favorites - candied orange peel, truffles, mini blueberry tarts, baby meringues with rasberries and blueberries, and some other things I didn't even get to try, I was so stuffed!!

Lots of presents, but hopefully not so many that everyone was bored to tears. We got some stuff that was on our registries, and some other cool stuff. One person gave us the really beautiful platter from our china set. And my cousin Barbara made us a "Mazel Tov" pillow with the glass inside it already for when Ryan breaks the glass at the ceremony. That was really sweet and touching.

After the party was over came the most amazing part, to me. Leanne tried on the purple top and the purple skirt, and it looked amazing! Really really good. I nearly fainted dead away with happiness. Check it out yourself!




All in all, the day started HORRIBLY and ended well. Now it's time to start writing "thank you" notes. Wheee!!

Thanks, Anne, Alison, Charlotte, Dawn, Kim, Kay, Ginger, and Yarnguy for your kind words, and your commiseration on my future-MIL issues. I hesitated to talk about them here because I didn't want Ryan to feel bad reading this but I think he'll understand I need to vent. And the more people who say nice things, the better I feel. I'm sure someday this will work out, and in the meantime, distance is a beautiful thing, as many of you have pointed out. And if she shows up to our wedding in black mourning clothes, it'll only reflect sadly on her.

I'm nearing the finish line with the bridesmaid tops! A few more inches and I'll be at the armhole of the last one. The first three were all the same size and v-neck, this one is a size smaller and a square neck. Wow, that square neck is so much easier to knit! No decreases to worry about every other row - just knit 17 stitches, throw 36 on a holder, knit another 17 all the way up to the shoulder. The back went very quickly once I got to the neck shaping.

It'll be such a joy to have finished all those tops in time. It turns out I will have enough yarn left over to make myself something, but I think I'll put that on the back burner for now. I am seeing purple varigated silk in my sleep at the moment. Plus I want to make something for Lisa's baby! I'm thinking of the baby blanket in last Spring/Summer's issue of Family Circle Easy Knitting. It's an ocean scene with fish and a whale, and red and white stripes in the sky. I really like intarsia, though I know others who hate it. I enjoy seeing the pictures develop as I knit, and I think it's particularly cute for baby things.

The only thing that's irking me about this pattern is that I looked up the selected yarn online, and the colors that are specified do not all look like the colors in the photo of the blanket. So far I haven't found anyplace that carries the yarn locally, so I have had to look at them online. If anyone has the magazine, take a look and let me know if you think these colors are "off." Maybe it's the monitor I am using here at work? The colors that look really off are the yellow (maize - 3546), green (pale slate - 3774), and color charts are here or here

I really enjoyed "The Producers" last night. Very funny, ridiculous, and over-the-top. Ryan enjoyed it, too, but his mother very clearly did not. Oh well. She's leaving for home this morning, with no resolution. Actually, there's far more animosity and bitterness than before. Screw political correctness, here's the salient points of the story.

Before this weekend, we got along fine, though I have sensed for a long time that she isn't ecstatic about Ryan and I. That died when she asked on Sunday afternoon whether we had a prenuptial agreement, and then proceeded to tell us that we need one. (Obviously to protect Ryan, not me.) Any chance I had of warming up to her died at that moment. There are so many levels of wrong with that conversation, I can't even begin to describe them all (and wouldn't need to, to a sane person.)

I feel really sorry for Ryan in all this. Sure, it's hard on me to know my future mother-in-law thinks her son is making a mistake by marrying me. But in the end, she's nothing to me other than his mother. I love my crazy mother and don't need another. It'd be great to have a good relationship with my husband's mother, but if I don't, she lives far away and it doesn't make much difference on a daily basis.

For him, though, this is his mother, and she's forcing him away by criticizing his choice to marry me. By being irrational, she's also putting him in the middle and making him choose whether to be loyal to her or to me. That's not fair. Even if I were a hateful bitch, she should respect that he loves me and not tell him that he is making the biggest mistake of his life by marrying me.

It's all very sad. None of us needs this additional stress 32 days before our wedding. I honestly never imagined it would come to this sort of nastiness.

I'm a little woozy at the moment after donating a pint of blood after lunch. Last time I did that (10 years ago) was a disaster, but today it went fine. I'd just prefer to be home on the sofa.

Unfortunately, I have to go out to the theater tonight. Ryan's mother is in town and we have tickets to see "The Producers" on Broadway. I'm looking forward to the show, but wish it weren't tonight!

The reason Ryan's mother is here is for his graduation, which was yesterday. Yes, my dear fiance has earned his Masters of Fine Arts! I'm so proud of him. I couldn't go to graduation, because it was in the middle of the day yesterday and I couldn't take a vacation day. But since he wasn't planning on going until his Mom said she wanted to go, he was OK with me not being there.

This visit from the future mother-in-law has not been all that pleasant. It appears that she is having the typical cliche issues about "losing" her "little boy." I will be politically correct and not go into details (she never reads this anyway, but just to be safe) but it is obvious that she is not in support of our marriage, and she has said a few things (some to both of us, some just to him) that have hurt me very deeply. It's pretty sad. But, she's wrong, and we're going to have a happy marriage and a wonderful life, whether she believes so or not.

Not much time to post, as I have to head out to my friend Kate's bachelorette party, but I had to get in a quickie update. I tried on the dress today and proceeded to hug the seamstress. She worked a miracle and the dress fits, and looks just as if it were made that way. I can hardly believe it! The relief is overwhelming. She also is going to make the bustle for the skirt exactly the way I wanted it - very smooth and not poufy. This woman is amazing!

OK, off to go have fun. At least I can drink happily, rather than drowning my sorrows!

Jeez, it's Friday morning and all I can think about is how nervous I am for my dress fitting tomorrow. I just can't shake the feeling that it will be a second disaster and I am going to be the Brooklyn Botanic Garden's very first nude bride.

Well, that would be a wedding to remember, wouldn't it? Good way to show off the workout results.

Quickie update - I have an appointment at 4pm on Saturday to try my dress on post-alteration. We'll see. I spoke with some sort of district manager today who said try it on Saturday, and if I am not happy, they will explore "alternative options." We'll see what happens, and cross your fingies in the meantime!

Also, it turns out the gift was NOT stolen. The Fedex guy delivered it, then returned a bit later because he decided it wasn't safe to have left it. Then he came back today. Wacky. You'll be pleased to know that I called Red Envelope back and had them re-charge my account. Maybe the good karma from that will balance out the dress nightmare.

I am so pissed off right now. My Mom's Mother's Day gift was stolen! The building we live in has eight apartments, and a locked lobby, but packages have been stolen before. I ordered something really cute from redenvelope.com, and the Fedex tracking says it was delivered, left without signature, yesterday afternoon. When we got home, there were three UPS packages, but no Fedex. I called redenvelope this morning and they credited my account, but they are out of the gift I ordered, so they can't get me a new one.

I am SO annoyed! I was so happy to have found just the right thing, without hauling my ass all around town. And now it's pretty much too late to order anything online without paying ridiculous overnight shipping costs, so I am going to have to haul the aforementioned ass ANYWAY.

GRRRRRRRRR!

The rest of yesterday went better than that, at least. I went with Diana, my maid of honor, to pick up her bridesmaid skirt. It was painless, and when we took it outside and looked at the color of the skirt with the color of the bridesmaid tank, it looked great! I had been sweating that a bit, since we had such a small swatch to go on, but at least that worked out well.

I also went and picked up my veil on the way back from lunch. I think if I were to work in the bridal industry, selling veils would be the best job. No one ever puts on a veil, says "eeeeeew, it makes me look so fat!" and bursts into tears. Generally, they put it on, look in the mirror, and say "wow, I look like a bride!" And that's exactly what I did.

No new news in the saga of my bridal gown. I'm trying not to think about it today. Not possible, but there's not much I can do. I spoke with the manager again and she told me she inquired about getting a new dress and it isn't possible. The big problem, I think, is that the style is not in their regular collection, and it is made in Spain. She's still trying to get it altered for Saturday, but I don't know if that's really going to happen. Wednesday was the original date (next Wednesday). I'm feeling better about it for the moment, just because I can't let myself feel that bad for that long. One way or another, we'll work it out. If they absolutely can't alter it and I have to get another dress, I'll live. I really don't want to do that (get another dress, I mean) but if I have to, I will.

My wedding band is still not quite right. I went yesterday and it's still .1mm thicker than my engagement ring. Yes, that's one-tenth of a millimeter. I don't know whether they are going to kill me or offer me a job there! But at least they gave me my engagement ring back this time, and I'm happy about that. It's all clean and sparkly, and they polished the band for me, too. I feel better at least, having it back.

I think I'm going to go with Diana today to pick up her bridesmaid skirt. I brought one of the completed tops with me, so we can be sure the color is OK. Please cross your fingers for that!

That photo of Alexander seems to not be happy on Ofoto, so I linked to a new one. It was so wonderful to talk to Lisa yesterday and hear the joy in her voice. I haven't heard that sound in so long. She's totally overwhelmed, but happy as could be.

I spoke with the manager at the bridal salon yesterday. She told me she was trying to find out what happened to my dress, and in the meantime was going to push the seamstress to have the alterations done by this Saturday, so I could try it on then and see how it is. I'm anxious about how the alterations will compromise the shape of the gown - particularly the boning, as a few commenters pointed out. Since I can't really do anything about it until the weekend anyway, I'm going to sit tight for the moment. As long as she has it Saturday, at least I can make an informed decision, rather than jump to a conclusion.

I think I'm going to write a letter to the president of the company that made the gown. I'm very frustrated with all the setbacks that have occurred with the gown, and I just feel like being a squeaky wheel. Considering how far in advance I ordered this gown, there should have been tons of time to deal with this crap, and now it's getting down to the wire, which was what I wanted to avoid in the first place.

In good news, I started bridesmaid top number four, and am about 6 inches into it. It's a size smaller than the others, so it's going a bit faster. I got the good news that the skirts came in 2 weeks earlier than they were expected to, and Lisa, at least, already has hers! I'm going to go with Diana sometime this week to pick up hers and see how the top works with it. Fingers will be crossed.

There's a lot of whine coming up here in a few moments. But first I will share some joyful news, since it is ultimately far more important than the whine. My best friend Lisa and her husband are on their way right now to pick up their new son! They have been trying to conceive and trying to adopt for nearly two years, and finally their efforts are being rewarded. Alexander Peter (last name omitted) was born late last week, and they got to meet him on Friday. He stayed with a foster family for the weekend and right now they are probably bundling him into a car seat.

I am so ecstatic over this news! I can hardly describe my joy at knowing that their deepest wish has been fulfilled. They are both such wonderful people and will be fantastic parents. I wish I could start knitting him a present right now, but that'll have to wait until post-wedding, I think. Anyway, little Alex is a very lucky boy and I can't wait to meet him! In the meantime, I can content myself with pictures such as this one.



If you want to linger on that happy feeling, go away now. The rest of this post is pure whine.

All along this planning route, there have been some minor setbacks, but nothing's really gotten me down. The rabbi canceling (we got a new one who we love), the guest list hassles (all finally sorted), the seeming impossibility of the jeweler to make my wedding band the right way...all within the realm of "it sucks but it'll get worked out." But this finally got to me.
 
Here's a refresher course on the dress: Found it in August, at a trunk show. The sample was my size, fit me perfectly - hem it, adjust the straps, and I could've gotten married that Tuesday. Loved it, ordered it, and they said it'd be in by January. January comes and goes, and they now tell me they order it to be in a reasonable number of weeks before the wedding, rather than a time period after you order it. So fine, it'll be in end of March. End of March comes, they tell me it's in. I come to visit it, and it turns out the computer said it's in, but it wasn't actually physically in the store. Urgh. Two hours (there and back) wasted in traffic. Turns out there was some dirt or something on the dress the factory was going to send, so they had to get or make a new one.
 
End of April, the dress is in. They tell me come for a fitting in mid-May but I decide that's too late so I make an appointment for Saturday. I go there, excited to see it after 9 months. I'm thinking it might need to be taken in a touch, since I've been working out and noticing some of my clothes are a bit looser these days. She puts it over my head and reaches for the closure at the waist, and ::ouch:: that's tight! She barely closes it and I feel like I am going to suffocate.
 
Then we try the bodice. There's about 3 inches of Betsy at the top that is just never going to fit in there - no WAY is that thing closing. And no WAY is it the same size as the sample I tried on. I keep my cool, they get the seamstress, she opens the lining and pronounces that there is enough seam allowance to let it out. Great. But why the fuck is my dress at least two sizes smaller than I ordered? The sample was a 6 - this would have to stretch to be a 2!
 
So, now, even though I KNOW it's the dress, and totally their fault, I feel like a giant cow. Which is ludicrous, I know - I am nowhere near it, but I feel it now. I am no longer excited about my dress, which I have adored from afar for an entire human gestational period. I feel like the alterations are going to be a compromise, and the dress will never look the way the sample did. I feel like why even fucking bother? At this point, 6 weeks away, I don't have a wearable dress OR a wearable wedding band (in case you missed that story, they made one that didn't match the band of my engagement ring because the diamonds were the wrong size, then they made a second in which the diamonds are OK but the band is thicker than my engagement ring, which they have had for 2 weeks in order to model the wedding band off of it. Argh).
 
I never expected to be one of those brides who cracks up and loses it 6 weeks before the wedding. I've been really calm, and really good up to now. Even with the pressure I've put on myself by knitting the bridesmaids tops (three down, one to go - and I saved the smallest size for last - it'll feel even faster!) Many of my friends and family have made comments to that effect. So in addition to being miserable, I am ashamed of my own feelings.  Great.

I will be calling the bridal salon manager later today to find out how the fuck they are going to explain the dress faux pas, and to make sure I am not paying for the alterations other than the hem, since that's all it was supposed to need. Then I'll carry on, but I don't know if I will be able to regain the excitement I once had. And that really sucks.

See? I told you there was a lot of whine here.

After kind of an irritating experience at work that kept me here until 7 for no good reason, I got home and found a tremendous Bloomingdale's box in our apartment! Somehow that lifted my spirits. Greedy little thing, ain't I? It was actually a very generous gift from a friend of my Dad's who I have only met once, and who can't make it to the wedding because he's speaking at a conference in London. He and his wife wrote us a lovely note and bought us the espresso maker and the blender we registered for! I was very taken aback at their generosity.

I would write a thank you note, but I appear to have lost the envelopes that came with them. Urgh. I have to go out and find some small envelopes today, as we've gotten a few gifts that I would like to acknowledge ASAP. At least I didn't lose the notes themselves. I think this time I actually did throw out the envelopes with some other stuff. At least they are easier to replace than the headpiece would have been.

Finished all the knitting on bridesmaid top number 3 last night! Just have to sew the side seams, weave in the ends, and it's on to number 4. Only thing is I am not sure what I did with the pattern for number 4. It's only slightly different - square neck instead of a v-neck, and a size smaller. But I would prefer to have the actual pattern, since I have no time or inclination to improvise on this one. Looks like I'll be tearing the place apart once again. Maybe I'll find the envelopes, too?

In fun news, I have my first dress fitting tomorrow! So excited to see it again! It's been since August, as you might recall. Mom's coming with me, and possibly Leanne. Diana can't make it. Something tells me that will be another "this is really going to happen" moment.

Spring is really here! And there are 46 days left. 46 days to finish the neckband and sew up bridesmaid tank number 3, and make number 4. 46 days to get my dress fitted, ceremony details straightened out, and figure out for sure who is and is not coming. 48 days until I am in Hawaii!

Contrary to popular belief, I am not freaking out. I am really busy and constantly thinking about what needs to be done, but I haven't panicked and don't think I will. As long as I stay on top of everything, it's manageable.

I am kind of sick of knitting that purple silk. And I am a little nervous that the color won't go with the skirts as well as I want it to. But I think I'm just being paranoid. The good news is I am actually interested in knitting after I finish these - making something for (gasp) myself! There's a yarn store out in Port Jefferson that Leanne frequents, and they are having a sale in two weeks, and I think I will be joining her out there for the sale and lunch. Should be nice.

It just occurred to me - I wonder if there really is a yarn sale? Or could this be a ploy to get me to a shower? I know there is one, I just don't know when. And if you know, you'd better not say anything. I want to be surprised. But I also enjoy trying to figure it out. :-)

I feel terribly dull. I work. I do wedding stuff. I knit (which right now falls into the wedding stuff category). Don't get me wrong, I am very excited about my wedding, and it's fun to do a lot of this stuff, but I do feel rather shallow lately. All my stories are wedding-related. This wasn't supposed to happen.

For example, what's on my mind this week? OK, for one, my dress. You know, my wedding dress. It was supposed to have been in a month ago, but there was something wrong with part of it when it shipped from the factory, so they had to re-make that. Then it was supposed to be in early this week, but no one has called and it isn't early anymore. Guess who I'll call later today?

The second thing taking up space is my band. You know, my wedding band. We went to pick that up yesterday, and there was a problem there, too. We ordered it to match my engagement ring - channel set princess cut diamonds halfway around the band. Basically, it's my engagement ring without the center stone. But when we went to pick it up, the diamonds did not match the size of the diamonds in the engagement ring, and the band itself was much thicker (not top-to-bottom thicker, but inside-to-outside thick if you know what I mean). So, they have to make a totally new ring. And to do it right, they had to take my engagement ring. I'm not worried about that - they are the people who made that ring in the first place. I just hate not having it and I hate having the hassle of having to have a second ring made.

What's on my to-do list? All sorts of stuff. Wedding stuff. Pick the menu for the rehearsal dinner (with no rehearsal, since Jewish weddings don't rehearse - though I will talk everyone through what's going to happen). Find something to wear to the rehearsal (yet not) dinner. Buy more Altoids for our favors (cute little round metal boxes with personalized labels and Altoids inside - Ryan stuffed most of them the other night but we were just slightly short, so back to BJs we go). Write "thank you" notes for gifts that have started arriving. Finish knitting 1.25 bridesmaid tops (almost done with number 3!). Finish writing, laying out and then print our programs (we need programs since many guests will have never been to a Jewish wedding). The list goes on. It's mostly little stuff, but it's still got to get done.

So with that filling my head, there's not as much space for other interesting talk. Intellectual talk. I swear, when this wedding is over, I am going to find the biggest, thickest, brainiest book I can find, read it cover-to-cover, and discuss it with anyone I can find!

I've been back at work since Wednesday, but have pretty much been feeling like crap the whole time. The fever and all are gone, but my stomach is still just "not right." Last night I had a piece of matzoh (I'm keeping Passover) with some cheese melted on top - one piece of matzoh - and 2 macaroons. Felt full and queasy all night. In the morning, I'm too queasy for real food. And I am so sick of sweet stuff, but non-sweet stuff makes me feel queasy when I think about it. It's very strange.

So since I am barely eating, I am barely getting anything else done. Can't go to the gym, and I'm a little on the dopey side, I think. Luckily, because of the holidays, it's been a mellow few days at work. Hardly done anything. Next week I will pay for that, but for this week it's a much-needed break.

In the knitting arena, I'm about 3" into the second side of the third bridesmaid top. Yes, the light at the end of this silken tunnel is starting to seep into my existence. Hallelujah!

We received what I think is actually an early shower gift yesterday. Ryan thinks it's a wedding gift, but I am pretty sure I know better. My cousin and her husband bought us the pasta machine (the old-fashioned kind) and creme brulee torch from our Bed, Bath and Beyond registry! I am such a dork - I got all excited that they got me stuff I wanted, and didn't even remember I had put it on the registry. I don't know when my shower ("if we decide to have one for you" wink wink nudge nudge) is, but it's fun to get gifts, even if I feel a little funny about everyone spending all this money on me.

We also got an Easter basket from Ryan's mother. Chocolate and the usual stuff, plus some odd additions. A condom, for one (for the wedding night? Our big first time? LOL!). And when I opened one of the plastic eggs, instead of candy, there was a cicada shell inside! I shrieked because it looked like a cockroach. Apparently, she thought it was a cute souvenir of the suburbs, not a freaky dead buglike thing. Kinda funny in retrospect, but it scared the crap outta me at the time!

I think it's a virus, not the sushi. Ryan started throwing up around 1 a.m. Both of us have stopped throwing up, but feel miserable, feverish and I have terrible stomach pains. Been home nearly 2 days and I'm too sick to knit! Oh yes, and it's the most perfect Spring day ever here. But neither of us can even muster the energy to sit in the window. Lovely. Whine whine whine whine whine.

Well, even the busiest and most dedicated of us (whoever that may be - it isn't me!) sometimes get an enforced break. I woke up around 6am today feeling queasy and shaky and sweating, and around 7am, after much whining, I finally threw up a bunch of times. Wondering if it's last night's sushi or a virus. Only time will tell, I suppose. But I'm feeling like utter sh*t, and probably will head back to bed momentarily.

Just time for a quick post before I hop in the shower. We're going outlet shopping today! Yes, I said we. Ryan finished his thesis the other night, so he's no longer glued to his computer every second of the day and night! Lots of late nights in the computer lab seem to have paid off. Hallelujah!

In my news, I am nearly finished with side of bridesmaid top number 3. This one went really quickly. Did a lot of the knitting during the Final Four. I think the happiness made me knit more quickly. I'm now confident that I will finish these silly tops, and confident that if I ever get sent back in time to do my engagement over again, I will just pick a dress for the bridesmaids and knit a silk tank top for myself to wear on the honeymoon!

The 'cuse is in the house! I can't believe my Orangemen won the NCAA Championship. So many years, so many close calls - I am so glad I was here to see it! I'll be more coherent tomorrow.

What is up with this?!

Snow And Sleet Are Expected To Overspread The Area During The Morning And Come Down Heavy At Times In The Afternoon. The Snow And Sleet Should Taper Off During The Evening Hours...But Not Before Leaving As Much As 4 To 6 Inches On The Ground.

When will spring ever arrive?

I dreamed last night that my friend Diana and I were in the Poconos with President Bush. He was wearing a pager that started out with a little orange light, but then became red, indicating that there was going to be a large-scale attack within a short period of time. Apparently one possibility was a nuclear strike in Iowa that would wipe out most of the mid-to-western states, isolating California forever (this musta been one hella nuke). In the dream, he was really smart and totally capable, and Diana and I were completely trusting of him. Whew. What the hell is my subconscious doing feeding me bullshit like that?!

In case I didn't mention it, I finished bridesmaid top number 2 earlier this week - maybe it was Sunday? I am now a few inches into the back of number 3. Yes, I'm definitely going to finish this. No, it's not going to be so pleasant. I've also been addressing our invitations, since Ryan is swamped with thesis work and also a lefty with hideous handwriting. Almost done with the outer envelopes, then I get to do the inners. Whee! The thing is, there are this many envelopes with having had to cut down the list a bit. I can't imagine what it would be like if I was able to invite everyone I'd want to have there!

I ordered my veil on Wednesday, which was fun. I wanted to wear the sample back to work - it just makes me feel awfully purdy. Today I think I am going to a sample sale in the city - there's this bridesmaid dress company called Thread that makes dresses that you could also wear to a rehearsal dinner or as a wedding guest, and they are having a sample sale from 4-6 p.m. Since I have two other weddings this summer (my friend Kate's, 2 weeks before mine, and Ryan's sister's, Labor Day weekend) I am interested in finding a cute dress, deeply discounted!

Tonight, I will be parked on the sofa watching my Orangemen in the Final Four. I will be eating appropriately for the occasion - Sal's Wings all the way. I ordered the "make it at home" kit a few weeks ago, having no idea I'd find such a perfect occasion to try them out. I would say these wings were at least 70 percent responsible for my freshman fifteen weight gain back then (that and the beer)!

For Debbie S - yes, dude, we really do have a Roomba. Ryan mentioned it to his Mom before Christmas and she actually bought it for us! We were stunned and ecstatic - it was probably the best gift she will ever give in her entire life! I love love love Roomba. Aside from doing a pretty darn good job on the wooden floors, it's also awfully cute. I find myself watching it a lot. Then the excitement wears off and I go do something else while Roomba does the work. Yay Roomba! Everyone, find someone to buy it for you now.

I swear, the coolest, nicest, most supportive people read my blog. I just read all the comments on finding my tiara, and combined with the support when I thought it was gone, I am just all mushy inside! It's even nicer that people still give a crap, since I've been such a lame blogger lately.

So, on balance, the weekend was good, but there was definitely a low point. I'll start there. I called the bridal shop on Friday and was told my dress was in! Yay! Made plans with Leanne to meet me there at 4pm Saturday, on her way to work (she's a pastry chef and works at a restaurant). We get there, and the manager, who is very sweet, disappears upstairs for a looooong time. She finally returns and says "you're gonna kill me." It wasn't there. Apologies up and down, she feels awful, totally her fault - the computer said it was in, they just had a shipment, she should have looked for the dress before she told me, blah blah blah.

I couldn't be too mad at her, because she is so nice, but it did take an hour to get there with traffic, and 1.5 hours to get home with traffic and rain. So she calls me today, and it turns out the dress came from Spain to the U.S. factory, and they didn't ship it to the store because there is something wrong with the skirt fabric. She didn't have details, but it was some sort of spot or oil stains. Who knows. So now they have to rush cut a new skirt. She assured me it was no problem, it'd be ready for fittings at the end of April or beginning of May, which is fine, but it sucks, too. I just want to see it, as all I have is that one picture and they no longer have the sample gown!

I'm glad the dress debacle was on Saturday, and then the tiara-finding was on Sunday. Other way around would have sucked more. But what tips the weekend over to good is definitely the FINAL FOUR, baby!! My Orangemen kicked some butt right around the time that I found my tiara. I was so excited about the tiara that I forgot the game wasn't at night and missed the darn thing. Silly! I will certainly be in front of a TV somewhere on Saturday night at 8:40pm!

Guess what's on my head right now. Need a hint?

It's sparkly.

It's silvery.

It's not in a landfill somewhere.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I found my tiara today. I swear, I have no recollection whatsoever of bringing it home. It was in my closet, on the floor, behind my shoe rack, wrapped in the very plastic bag I mentioned the other day. See, good things can Icome out of cleaning the closet! I am unspeakably happy. Probably more happy than I ought to be, given that it's just a piece of metal. But it's my piece of metal, and I like it so much! I was despairing of ever finding anything as nice. So, I've worn it around the house for the rest of the cleaning. I am very fancy today!

I also finished the second bridesmaid top - well, all except for the side seams, but I will finish that after I post this. Now that I've cleaned the kitchen, bathroom and closet, vacuumed (OK, I ran the Roomba - it still counts) the whole apartment, and unclogged the slow-running bathroom sink, I am returning to the sofa.

It's Friday and there's still no tiara. In the immortal words of my friend Caryn - "what a suck!"

At least I will have plenty of free time this weekend to look for a new one. Ryan has plenty of thesis work to do, since he's getting down to the wire now. I'll probably head out early tomorrow to try and beat the crowds and the rain. Sunday looks like a great knitting day, given the crappy weather forecast.

I finished the front of the second bridesmaid top, and sewed the shoulders together. Just need to pick up and knit the neck and shoulder edging, and sew the side seams and then I can cast on for #3! Woo-ee!

For all you who wondered if I was innovative or crazy when I decided on this project, the answer is both, leaning towards crazy.

I've been having so much trouble sleeping lately. Not falling asleep, but staying asleep. I wake up in the middle of the night, and then by around 6 or 6:30 a.m., I can't sleep anymore. Mostly I wake up with my head spinning from the things I need to do that day, or in general. I've got a "to-do" list a mile long, and plenty going on at work, too. Add to that the gym 4 times a week (my goal - which I am proud to say I usually achieve) and the occasional social obligation, and I think it's entirely possible that one day I will wake up with flames coming out my ears.

And now on top of that, I think I did something particularly dumb. I think I threw out my tiara by accident. I can't find it at my office, where I last had it because I had brought it veil shopping with me. It was wrapped in a plastic bag, and I think I may have tossed it last week. I'm not going to go completely nuts yet, but after I methodically tear apart my office today, I probably will be convinced that it's gone. I can't for the life of me remember bringing it home, though I have looked around here anyway. Oy. Everything was fine until last week - then I think my brain imploded.

Maybe it's because I realized there are 81 days left 'til W-Day. And there's a war on, which probably won't be over by then. That's comforting. I wonder if people won't want to fly? I hope that won't happen, but I did put information for traveling by Amtrak on the travel information sheet we're putting in the invitations.

I'm halfway through the armhole on the front of the second bridesmaid top. I may be able to finish it tonight, depending when I get out of work. I'm going to go to the gym, have a snack, and park myself on the sofa with the knitting and the kitties. But first, there's a whole work day to get through. Better go get dressed for it.

It's National Orange Day and I am actually wearing orange! I even brought an orange with my lunch, though that was purely coincidental.

I know I haven't posted in a week and a lot has happened. Is it possible that this war has actually rendered me speechless? Not quite. But I haven't quite known what to say, and have felt like anything I have to say has been said by so many people already. But I will do so now anyway.

I was not happy about the prospect of this war. I am no fan of George W. Bush, and I don't have the greatest confidence in his leadership. I do, however, believe that Saddam Hussein is violating the terms of the UN resolutions, and is a danger to at least the U.S. and his own people. But the thought of the U.S. going in there, bombing and killing without an overt provocation really made me stomach turn.

Of course, now we've done it, and there's not much choice. I still wish that diplomacy had worked. I still believe that with another president - one who was more interested in making progress than tough-talking sound bites - it could have worked. Unfortunately, that's not who is in power, so we are at war. And since we are at war, I have to support our troops 100% and hope that the incredible military machine we have built will prove successful. The shorter this war, the fewer lives will be lost, on both sides.

So that is where I stand - I will be tying yellow ribbons, even as I lament that we are at war at all.

Ah! This was the glorious Spring day everyone has been dreaming of for months. Yesterday wasn't so bad, either! It was an absolute joy to shed my winter coat and step outside without shivering. It didn't hurt that I started feeling better on Saturday afternoon, and by that night was well enough to go to dinner and a movie with our friends John and Amy.

I really liked the movie - Bend it Like Beckham. Very sweet and funny, and an entertaining look at the clash between cultures and generations. If you're looking for something slightly off the beaten path, but not so far off that it has subtitles, check it out.

On Sunday I expected Ryan to work, but he decided to blow of thesis for the day so we could do laundry and then enjoy the sunshine a bit. We ended up at the New York Aquarium in Coney Island. The place has improved a lot since the last time I was there, and we enjoyed it quite a bit.

I'm almost up to the armholes on the second half of the second bridesmaid top! I knitted for hours on Friday and then again last night. Now I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and believing I can actually finish this in a reasonable amount of time. So of course this morning, I got a monkey wrench thrown into my wedding plans. The rabbi I booked in September can no longer do our wedding - he has a family wedding that day that he was just informed of. Oy!

This news set off a cataclysm of thoughts - mostly me wondering whether we should actually have a Jewish ceremony. I'm more of a secular Jew, Ryan is totally non-religious, so what are we doing? Maybe we should have a non-denominational ceremony with a spiritual but not religious officiant, and incorporate some traditions, but not all the religious deity stuff. I contemplated that (and am still contemplating it), floated the trial balloon past my Mom to prepare her in case we do change plans, cried over the stress of it all, and went back to work.

Then the "backup rabbi" that the original rabbi had called ended up calling me. He seems nice. I am still undecided over the right thing to do, but we are going to meet with him to talk, probably this Thursday. He lives up in Scarsdale, so we actually have to drive up there after work. That's kind of a bummer, but at least for the wedding itself he could drive himself to Brooklyn. So, we'll meet, we'll talk, and we'll see what he has to say. One way or another, we will find someone to marry us in a ceremony that we can both live with.

Had trouble getting into blogger yesterday. Plus, I woke up sick (it had been coming on all day Thursday) and had to do my presentation whilst feeling like a pile of crap. Luckily, everyone (including the President of our division) said I was fabulous, and everyone else did a great job, too. Glad to have that over with. I think I have to go to Philly next Wednesday to do it again with revisions for the higher-level folks. Whee.

So today I am home sick. Sore throat. Haven't had one all winter, for a change, and now it caught up with me. I've been debating whether to see the doctor or not. I don't have a fever, so I think it is less likely to be strep and more likely a virus, which is just a wait it out situation, so I think I'll skip the doctor. Of course, if it gets worse over the weekend, rather than better, I will be bummed that I made this decision.

For the meantime, I'm staying home, making some soup (Ryan just bought me the stuff I need) and resting. I think I may even knit!

Our wedding invitations arrived yesterday and they are beautiful! I was really so pleased with the way they came out. I'd been worried about them, since we ordered online (I had seen a sample invitation without printing) and only had a fax proof. But everything is great, and I can in good conscience recommend Invitation Hotline to anyone who wants to order invitations (for anything, not just weddings) online.

Got most of the way through my taxes last night, and thanks to the job-hopping I did, I am getting a decent refund, which will be much appreciated. After talking to my best friend/tax advisor I just filled out a new W-4 and will be getting a few more bucks in my paycheck starting now, since the IRS considers you married for the whole year in the year in which you get married. Yay! I could certainly use the extra cash.

Tonight is gym night, and tomorrow is a big client presentation that I am a little nervous over. Not too anxious, but just enough to be paying attention. It's a semi-formal presentation, more of a work-in-progress than a full presentation, so it shouldn't be too bad.

In response to this repulsive news story I actually wrote the following letter to my congresswoman:

I'm writing in hopes that you will do something about the ridiculous waste of taxpayer time and money I just read about in the news. I am referring to the action by Rep. Ney of Ohio to replace the word "French" with "Freedom" on House menus, etc.

I am certain that a levelheaded Brooklynite such as yourself cannot possibly support such a pointless, arrogant and spiteful action as this, and I hope you can do something to dissuade your colleagues from pursuing it any further.

This action offends me deeply. It gives the appearance that while taxpayers are worrying about the economy, terrorism and the threat of war, our representatives are sitting around on Capitol Hill playing language police. Whether or not this is true, does Rep. Ney have any idea how stupid he looks to the majority of Americans?

Also, it has the ring of xenophobia and perpetuates the view of the U.S. as petty, isolationist, and self-serving. These are some of the very reasons we are so deeply hated in so many countries, even those who are our allies.

I implore you to put a stop to this pathetic waste of time and taxpayer money! Please share this opinion with your colleagues in the House, and help stem the tide of radical idiocy on Capitol Hill!

Thank you very much for your attention in this matter.


If you are as disgusted by this as I am, write to your congressperson! Make a stink! Go to www.house.gov to find out who your representative is, and how to contact them.

Hey, my pants are looser today! Maybe all this working out is paying off. We've been hitting the gym at least 4x/week and I've been working harder than I ever have. Last night I did 30 minutes of run/walk on the treadmill (walk 3 minutes, run 1) - I used to be too lazy to ever bother with the run part. And I'm switching cardio equipment most of the time, rather than just doing the same old thing every time I go. Plus way more weight-lifting, which I've been reading is particularly important in your 30s. It's only been a few weeks, but I really am starting to see results, one of which is that the pants that were really tight a few weeks ago are back into the "close-fitting but comfortable" zone. Yay me!

We were going to go buy wedding bands today at lunchtime, but now it's put off until next week when Ryan has class and thus more than one reason to come to Manhattan during the day. It's OK - I have plenty to do at work for Thursday's client meeting, so I could use the extra time. Also, our invitations should be delivered (to us) today! They were supposed to be here yesterday, but at 4:48 the UPS driver entered "receiver not in on 1st attempt" into the system. Of course, that was a lie. Ryan was home all day, and wasn't in the shower or anything at that hour, and the doorbell never rang. There was also no delivery slip. Lazy piece of !@#$ didn't even try to deliver the package. That pissed me off big-time. But if it arrives today, I'll get over it.

I'm back for a quick minute to say I have finally gotten a chance to look at the new Knitty and there are some awfully cute patterns in there! After my wedding, I am thinking I might soothe my post-wedding withdrawal with the bright and cheery Sitcom Chic cardie, designed by the ever-fabulous, entertaining, and prolific Bonne Marie. And I may get to make some Dim Sum for the kitties even before that, since they are quick and easy. And I just adore the Tiptoe through the Tulips socks, but I doubt I will have the fortitude to make those anytime soon. My first foray into sock knitting is still sitting on 2 circs in my knitting cabinet. For almost a year. Oh how I would adore a pair of those, though! I would actually buy these socks! Oh well, always good to have an unattainable object of desire.

Seems everyone but me has gotten their Rowan #33. Not that I have time for any other knitting at the moment, but I'm bummed to not have received it. Just wrote to their customer service to see what's up.

Last night's dinner was quite a success - the Cooking Light Bibimbop was fantastic! A little of a pain to serve because it's topped with an over-easy egg, and I didn't want to serve a cold egg to anyone, so I had to plate each serving individually (so the rice would stay hot) and then cook up a fresh egg. Not that it took too long, but if there were more than three of us it would've been annoying. Of course the traditional way to serve it is in a heavy earthenware bowl, which alleviates the cold rice issue, so I could have assembled all the servings and then just done the eggs quickly. Or I could buy a big griddle and do all the eggs at once like a short-order cook. Maybe not.

Tonight I'm going to see Erasure at the Beacon Theater with my friend Paul. He's a tremendous Erasure fan, and I've actually seen them with him before, on my birthday about 5-6 years ago. Should be a fun show. I'm not sure what else we're going to do today other than go to the gym, which I'm just about to do. I've been very diligent about working out again. It helps that Ryan and I arrange to meet there on my way home from work, so it's harder to wimp out. So far, I've stuck to the 4-workouts-per-week goal and I even look forward to it. I think I am starting to see a teensy difference already. Here I go!

Had a little reality check today. Velma emailed me to ask how things went with the Topsecret sweater I wanted to knit a few months ago using the lovely Gedifra Dandy yarn I bought last Spring. I was forced to admit I hadn't gotten anywhere near knitting it, because of my major procrastination on the bridesmaids tops. Sigh.

Of course, you'd think that would get me to knit tonight, but no. We got home at 8 from the gym (went straight after work) and then I should have knit during Bush's press conference, but I didn't even think of it. Duh. Then I was cooking pasta for dinner tonight, and preparing veggies for tomorrow night's dinner (the Bibimbop recipe from this month's Cooking Light), and now I'm blogging a bit, reading some email, and then off to bed. Maybe I just need the deadline to be right the f*ck on top of me in order to act?!

Have you heard about the giant Chee-to?

I left the house at 8 this morning, as my friend John was driving through the city and dropped me off, as has become the norm lately. It was raining when I walked out the door, and by the time we were on the Brooklyn Bridge, it had started freezing up and bouncing off the windshield. Now, an hour later, it's snowing like crazy outside my office window. It's fascinating to witness the development of a snowstorm like that.

Now let's just hope it doesn't stick or melts quickly.

Knitting? What's knitting? Oh, I think I used to do that. Urgh.

OK, I did start the front of bridesmaid top number two. I did at least four rows, so get off my back, people! Of course, that was Sunday, and now it's Wednesday. I have an appointment at Bliss after work, and I'll probably be home between 7 and 7:30, so perhaps I'll devote the rest of the evening to knitting and TV. Sounds very soothing.

Just as I procrastinated knitting, I procrastinated meeting with florists, and now am procrastinating follow-up with them. One gave me a ridiculously huge estimate that I do not think can possibly be whittled down to reasonable proportions. One gave me a very reasonable - almost scarily reasonable - estimate. He's the one right around the corner on Court Street. So why haven't I called her to tell her I don't think it can be done, and called him to tell him it can?

Work is busy in a weird way. I have a project that we're outlining and putting together schematics for, to be presented on March 13th. I am supposed to review what we've done so far at noon with my boss and her partner (associate creative director for copy, associate creative director for art.) My art director partner is out today, so it's just me, which is fine - at least I can get a word in. He tends to talk a lot. I have the visual schematic, and I wrote a detailed description of the program flow and components, so I think I'm fine. I'm not sure how much further we need to go for the client presentation, which makes me wonder whether I am over- or underestimating my portion of the work involved in this presentation.

Been going to the gym fairly often - trying for four times a week minimum, and focusing more on weight training than cardio. I've read in a few places that weight training is actually more important for a woman in her 30s. Also, I tend to work pretty quickly, and not take a lot of rests (because I want to get home!) so I think I get a decent cardio benefit while I am doing weights. I'm now calling my workout plan my "hotness initiative" (so that every piece of my life can have some business jargon?). I'm not working out to look good for my wedding - all the stuff you can see when I wear my wedding gown already looks fine. It's the stuff hiding underneath I'd like to change a bit. The stuff everyone will see in my honeymoon pictures. That is the true challenge.

Has it really been so long since I posted? How lame am I?!

I've just been busy with work, and wedding, and procrastinating knitting the bridesmaid tops. I just ordered the skirts (which I had a good reason to wait on) and they are supposed to arrive a month before the wedding. That's a teensy bit nervewracking, too. I guess it just means the girls will have to get the alterations (probably just hems) done quickly. Now that I think of it, the one I am most nervous about is Kristy's, since she is so far away in Hawaii. But she's also tall. In photos of her trying on wedding dresses, the samples (which were far too long on me) were just right on her. So maybe she won't need a hem at all. There's a comforting thought.

Other than that, we ordered invitations, picked the menu and linens (I couldn't believe they had like 40 different choices of linen colors!), and I actually did start knitting the front of bridesmaid top number two.

I wish I had more to say, but I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed and not too chatty. I'm sure that'll change soon enough.

It's pretty amazing that after all this cold weather, I stepped outside into 40 degrees today and thought it felt like Spring! I'm talking no hat, loose scarf, top button open on the coat! A few months ago I was shivering at weather like this, but now it feels positively balmy. This winter has reminded me so much of the winters up in Syracuse, where I went to school.

A friend who is getting married two weeks before me said she liked the idea of having such a bad winter because it will make the arrival of Spring feel even more special, and that goes nicely with the wedding countdown. I decided I'd go along with that idea, since I have to find something to like about it!

I finished the back side of the second bridesmaid top on Tuesday night. Tonight I will try and start the front, if I have time. We have to go up to Mount Sinai hospital to visit Ryan's sister's fiance's father. He lives in Miami but was taken ill while up here for a weekend conference, and the poor guy knows no one else in the city. I've never met him, but he's apparently a very warm and friendly guy and doesn't mind being visited by a virtual stranger (he has met Ryan before). At least this way I will have met him before Kristy and Tom's wedding in August!

Why in the world am I here at the office? There's no way my client is in - they're outside of Philadelphia and they all drive to work. That sure isn't happening! Pretty much the only people here in the office are those who live in the five boroughs and don't have to drive. But, the office is open and I need to save my PTO time for the honeymoon, so here I am.

Walking up Court Street in Brooklyn was quite entertaining. (If you're a masochist!) Some places were shoveled clean, others were just foothpaths worn through 2 feet ot snow with one "lane" for walking. The older man walking in front me didn't have boots and went down hard at once of those spots. He wouldn't let me help him up, though. Just as well - I'd have probably fallen on top of him and broken something on one of us.

So, now I'm here to sit and stare into the near distance of my monitor, while it snows even more out there. Maybe I'll sneak out a bit early.

Still snowing. It slowed down for a while, but it's picked up in the past hour or so and it's really windy again. Ryan and I have made good use of the day, cleaning up a lot of stuff around here. We just headed out to check out the snowfall, and got some nice pics of our car. It's the second one on the right side of the street here.

Here's a closer view



Doesn't seem like we'll be driving anywhere for quite a while! I'm sort of hoping against hope that the office will be closed tomorrow (we had a holiday today) but I doubt that will really happen. It would just be nice to have a day to go and play in the snow!

Well, before the snow started, I made it out to Long Island to have someone who actually would fit the bridesmaid top try it on. Leanne was a willing victim, since she's got to wear it in June anyway. I was SO pleased when she put it on - it totally fits and looks great on her! She made me cut off her head in the pic because she was busy making a wedding cake and was not presentable for public viewing. I still haven't woven in the ends (lazy me) so just ignore the random threads hanging down.





Major load off my mind knowing that it looks good. Now we just have to order those skirts ASAP. Was going to do it today, but the store is closed due to the weather. Oy.

... The National Weather Service Continues The Blizzard Warning Until Midnight Tonight...

Snow Will Become Heavier As The Day Progresses. Occasional Blizzard Conditions Are Expected As Winds Will Gust Between 35 And 40 Mph At Times. This Will Produce Whiteout Conditions Which Will Make Driving Extremely Dangerous If Not Impossible. Total Snowfall Amounts By The Time This Storm Heads Out To Sea Late Tonight Should Range For The Most Part Between 1 1/2 And 2 Feet.

Remember... A Blizzard Warning Is Issued When Sustained Wind Speeds Or Frequent Gusts Of Over 35 Mph Are Expected With Considerable Falling And/Or Blowing And Drifting Snow. Visibilities Will Become Poor With Whiteout Conditions At Times. Those Venturing Outdoors May Become Lost Or Disoriented So Persons In The Warning Area Are Advised To Stay Indoors.

Residents Should Prepare For Major Travel Interruptions Into Tuesday And Possible Scattered Power Outages As The Heavy Snow And High Winds May Cause Trees And Power Lines To Come Down.

Stay Tuned To Noaa Weather Radio... Local Media Or Visit The National Weather Service Webpage At Weather.Gov For Further Details Or Updates On This Weather Situation.


I think that says it all, for the moment. I'm sure there will be pictures later!

Looks like a late night for me, but I hope not too late. Lots of stuff has to go out to the client tomorrow, and although my work is mostly done, I have to wait for projects to route through the art director, studio, and editor so I can see if there are any changes I need to approve/forbid. At least we all agreed to stay as late as necessary to get it done tonight so we don't have to stay tomorrow or work the weekend (client needs everything by 9 a.m. Monday, and we're closed Monday anyway).

I was such a good girl today - I made an appointment with a florist to talk about wedding flowers. This is not the florist down the street, but I decided I wanted to get more than one proposal. For flowers, I mean. One proposal for marriage was quite enough!

I was supposed to go veil-shopping yesterday with a friend who is also getting married (2 weeks before me). There's a store near our offices (she works a few blocks away) that is supposed to be fantastic, but they close at 4:30 so we have to go during lunch. Unfortunately, we had to push it off until today, and then until tomorrow. Hopefully we will go tomorrow and maybe I will post some pics over the weekend.

I'm just an inch or so into the armhole shaping on side one of bridesmaid top number two, but this is the part of the top that starts going more quickly because of the decreasing and the wide scoop neck. I think I'll finish it before the long weekend is up.

Valentine's Day tomorrow! I've arranged a little surprise for Ryan. Sssh, don't tell. He's arranged a surprise for me, too. All I know is I have to leave work by 5:30, and dinner is involved but is definitely not the whole shebang.

Well, I just got motivated and updated all my links. Deleted the non-working ones, changed a few blog names that had morphed, and updated some URLs. I hope I got it all!

Before I head off to bridesmaid top knitting-land, I figured I'd post a bit. Uh-oh - I just heard "Crazy Taxi 3" start in the next room. Must...resist...

The good thing about wedding and knitting is it keeps me from obsessing about other stuff too much. Like the impending war. Of course, reminders are constantly there. This morning, there were ten cops on the uptown 4 train platform at Borough Hall. They were clustered in 4 small groups along the platform. Wonder if that will be a regular thing from here on in. I guess all the muggers will be disappointed, but somehow it doesn't seem like it will deter the terrorists.

Work has gotten so busy lately. I'm not complaining - just tired!

I had a good, productive weekend. Pretty much nailed down our guest list with my parents and Ryan's Mom. That was a relief. I also got the swatch of my gown that I have been awaiting, though it was sort of anticlimactic - ooh, 2 pieces of silk staples to a card! Whee! I'm up to the armhole shaping on the back side of the second bridesmaid top, so I'm feeling good there, too.

Other than that, not much to tell, and I'm too pooped to think of anything more exciting. I'm sure someday this blog will become interesting again.

Oh, it just occurred to me that I ought to answer some of the nice comments I got the other day! Thanks for all the compliments - I really needed to hear them, as I am so nervous about how this will all work out. You guys have boosted my confidence infinitely! And yes, indigirl, those are my Nick & Nora PJ pants. I have been wanting these for ages, and Ryan got them for me this year as a holiday gift. Plus he got them at a discount at the sample sale I "casually" told him about. Such a good man!

Believe it or not, I was too busy yesterday to post this exciting news - I finished the first bridesmaid tank! Here's proof:





Please note that this tank is a size too large for me and should fit the wearer much better, particularly in the back. Also please note that my bra is quite visible due to the close proximity of the flash. In real life, it wasn't an issue at all.

I'm nearly up to the armhole shaping on the second tank, so I am starting to feel like this is a possible dream once again. I just need to slow down and get some knitting time in.

I’m feeling pretty productive, knitting-wise. I dove in and picked up the stitches on the first bridesmaid tank, and lo and behold, it came out fine! I just have the second armhole ribbing to do and then I can sew up the side seams and see how this sucker looks. It’ll be too big for me, but I’ll still be able to get an idea.

I’m also about 1/3 of the way into the back side of the second tank. As long as I keep on knitting steadily, I think it will be no problem to get these things done. There’s always the wild-card of Lisa’s possible pregnancy, so hers is going to be last. She’ll know in another 10-12 days whether she’s pregnant this month, so I think I can hold off on ordering the skirts until then. If she’s not, then she can decide whether to order it a size or two big, in hopes that she won’t have to take it in if she isn’t pregnant then.

Terribly sad news about the space shuttle on Saturday. Both of my parents are very interested and involved in aerospace, so I am maybe more attuned to this than I would be otherwise. My Mom has always been a space enthusiast. She ran the Young Astronauts program at her school during her teaching years, as well as doing a lot of other aerospace education projects. Now that she’s retired, she’s become involved in The Space Society, and I think is the VP of their local group.

Dad actually worked on the International Space Station project when it was in its infancy, which is pretty neat. I’m not sure what exactly his role was, but I know I went to a cool reception where they had a scale model of it, etc. This was back when he worked at Grumman, before it became Northrup Grumman. He also worked at Lockheed Martin, another key player in the space shuttle program, but he didn’t work on the shuttle.

Anyway, that bit of history aside, my heart really goes out to the families of the astronauts, and to all the people at NASA. From what I have seen, people who choose to do this kind of work are so incredibly dedicated to science in general, and space exploration in particular. It’s almost a religion (though with a much more sensible basis, in my opinion.) I know that so many people, even those who were not directly involved and did not know anyone, will take this loss very hard. I hope that we will be able to learn from the tragedy and prevent anything like this from happening again, while still moving forward with the space program.

Yay! Shetha has a new blog!

Yay! It's only very cold today rather than my-nose-just-fell-off-my-face cold!

Yay! I just felt like saying "yay!"

So I didn't go to Stitch-n-Bitch again last night. I was stuck here at work a little late the past few nights, and didn't even realize it was Tuesday until long after I had left the house. How lame. I swear, I really am coming back someday, ladies!

Everything just seems so busy now. I'm making more headway on the wedding plans, but still having occasional moments of "what am I missing?" I think because I did so much up front, I stopped doing anything other than idle thinking for a long time. I'm still awaiting my dress, and still awaiting a swatch of the skirt fabric so I can use it to help pick shoes.

I need to get on the ball with ordering the bridesmaid skirts (oh yeah, and knitting those tops...) but I have been holding off in hopes that one of my bridesmaids will be pregnant (she has been trying for a while.) I think if it doesn't happen this month, I need to just do it - supposedly it takes 12 weeks for the skirts to come in. I've heard many people say they got them earlier (quite a bit earlier in some cases) but I really don't want to bank on that.

We did get the little round tin boxes we are going to use for our favors, and they look nice. The labels we're going to stick on top are to be delivered either today or tomorrow, so maybe over the weekend we can sit and put those on, to get that out of the way.

What I really need to do is get on the ball about flowers. I have so many different visions of what they ought to be that it is paralyzing me. I think I need to just take an hour, think about it, and then call the darn flower guy I want to work with. His shop is literally around the corner from my apartment, so it would be super-convenient. I saw his work at a wedding that we happened upon while it was being set-up one day this summer, and I liked what I saw. Why I am procrastinating on this, I have no idea.

And let's not even talk about the bridesmaid tanks. Although I love the knitting, I just have not been terribly motivated lately, and the guilt is racking up. I need to relax, get back to basics, and just whip these things out the way I know I can.

During our morning status meeting today, a woman who has never been very friendly to me told everyone she had just handed in her resignation. Everyone was so sad, and told her how she’d be missed, and one person even cried. I sort of felt guilty that all I felt was relief since she had never made any effort to be nice to me. Not that she was nasty, but I got the distinct sense that she couldn’t care less if I were here or not.

The not-skiing weekend turned out to be really fun. Ryan and most of the others went skiing, while two of us sat in the lodge for a few hours and hung out. I got a couple of inches done on bridesmaid tank #2, and then Ryan and Anita came off the slopes and decided they were done for the day. The three of us went outlet shopping for a few hours and met up with the rest of the crowd at home for dinner. All in all, it was a good weekend, and nice to spend some quality time with good friends.

Once again, it was fuh-reezing when I left the house this morning, and it is going to stay that way a bit longer, it appears. I am so sick of this friggin weather. It really makes me not want to go anywhere other than work and home. I am far more sociable in warmer weather.

Just time for a few quick thoughts as I wrap up a silly day and await Ryan picking me up for a weekend of not skiing up in the Poconos. Well, not skiing for me. He'll probably ski. Too cold for me. Global warming my ass! I've got lots of yarn and some books so I should be able to keep myself well-entertained up in the frozen mountains. See you Monday!

My office-mate, Mary Jo, just informed me that the temperature hasn’t been above freezing here since January 13th. I believe it. It hit 30 over the weekend and it felt like a heat wave! Even with the humidifier we bought on Monday, my skin is so dry that my face is starting to flake, and I am just now feeling my toes again after my morning commute!

Yet, we are going skiing this weekend. OK, let’s start by telling you I’ve skied twice in my life, and didn’t love it either time. But, at Rich and Trystan’s party last weekend, somehow (while I was out of the room) a ski weekend at our friend Dorothy’s family’s house in the Poconos (Poke-a-Nose, I like to say) got planned. I’m not so certain I’ll actually ski, but I will definitely bring my knitting.

Knitting which I haven’t touched all week due to the aforementioned "Crazy Taxi" playing. Damn that game is addictive. Ryan thinks it’s cute that I like it so much. I find it frightening.

We ordered our wedding favors last night. Cute little round tin boxes that we are going to fill with Altoids (or possibly a similar minty candy) and cute little personalized labels that we’re going to stick on top. It’s such a small part of the wedding but it felt good to get that done. I still really need to deal with the flowers. Problem is, I like so many different things and don’t want to go in there all scattered and not knowing what I want. I know what I want for centerpieces, just not for bouquets. Yes, the problems of the modern bride.

Right now, it’s hard to imagine it will ever be warm enough to be in the Botanic Gardens and not freeze my butt off.

Right now, I am so jealous of my friend Paul. He just went down to Florida to work for a former boss/friend of ours for an undetermined period of time, and is missing the coldest weather we've had in years! Though it doesn't sound like he is having a good time in Florida, at least it's more than 20 degrees there. Yesterday it hit 30 and I thought we were having a heat wave. My Dad said he thought his thermometer was broken Saturday morning when it said 6!

The three-day weekend was nice, though I didn't get all that much done. Went to Rich and Trystan's birthday on Saturday, and played with the kids. Went to my Dad's birthday brunch on Sunday and played with the not-kids. Then Sunday we played at home and did a little shopping. I've become somewhat addicted to playing Crazy Taxi on the Xbox. I think I like it more than Ryan does. Somehow all the zipping around and crazy driving is very cathartic!

I sound like a broken record, but I'm not getting to Stitch-n-Bitch tonight. It's so cold that the idea of staying out late is not remotely appealing. Plus I have a roast beef that I was going to make last night but didn't, because we had a lot of leftovers from various weekend meals and decided to just eat those. So I need to make the roast tonight, and then we can have leftovers of that for the rest of the week. Maybe I'll manage to knit. I started the second bridesmaid top, but that's all I've done - started.

On the wedding front, we booked most of our honeymoon in the past week or so. We leave the Tuesday after our wedding and fly to the Big Island of Hawaii (which, for your edification, is not where we went for Christmas - that was Honolulu, which is on the island of Oahu, which is much smaller than the island that is actually called Hawaii and nicknamed "The Big Island." You can learn lots more about this at gohawaii.com). We'll spend 5 days on the beach, then 2 days down near Volcanoes National Park, where we hope to catch some good eruptions at Kilauea Volcano.

After that, we fly to Kaua'i for another week. We're spending a few nights at the Princeville and then the rest of the time possibly at the Hyatt (where we have reservations on hold), possibly somewhere less expensive. We booked the trip using miles, and decided to go first-class - if you can't blow 65,000 miles on your honeymoon, when are you going to blow them? Still, even without the airfare, this is an expensive trip, and we may need to cut back a bit. We'll have to wait and see.

I've probably babbled enough for the day. I suppose I should go find out whether we're having our Monday status meeting on Tuesday, and what I've actually got to do today!

I feel so lame. The knitting content on this blog has gotten pretty friggin slim, eh? Well, I think I'll try and do something about that starting ASAP. Unfortunately, I am basically going to be knitting the same project three more times, so it's not going to be all that exciting.

"I started another bridesmaid top. It's purple. Just like the other ones."

"Look at the picture - it's a purple bridesmaid top. But this one is a size 34, while the others were size 36 - can't you SEE the vast difference?"

Oy.

What in the world was I smoking when I laid this project on myself? Crack, and lots of it, it seems. All I want to do is knit something fun and pretty for me, but I really gotta do this. I can't have topless bridesmaids! Well, I suppose I could, but something tells me THAT would draw attention away from the bride, and I want as much attention as I can get. :-)

Wow, it's been a busy couple of days. The funeral yesterday was as expected, long, sad, exhausting. And cold. Boy was it cold standing out there.

Work today was just hectic, preparing for yet another presentation tomorrow. I was in a major crunch to get some things done, and luckily I managed them and everyone thought I did a fantastic job. Yay me!

I think the best news of the day was logging onto the corporate benefits site and discovering that I am now enrolled in our health plan! Halle-friggin-lujah! That is one major monkey off my back. I guess they took pity on me in Omaha and filed the paper form even after the online deadline had passed. Yay Omaha! I actually did a little happy dance in my office, thinking about the $3,600 I won't have to spend on COBRA insurance extension this year.

Other than that, not much to say. I feel like the world is swirling around me and I rarely have a moment to do anything but rush from one place to another. Maybe now it will start to calm down. Except that I have two birthday celebrations to go to this weekend (Rich & his son Trystan on Saturday, my Dad on Sunday). And soon the wedding stuff will be in even higher gear and I will have to start doing things rather than just thinking about them. Yipes.

Well, dinner at Noche was really yummy and lots of fun. It had been a long time since Leanne and I just got to hang out and chat, without either being at a party or with the boys. We're still playing with the design of the wedding cake, but the consensus is it's going to be a carrot cake! Can't do the cream cheese frosting on top, but it will be in between the layers. Yummy. She had mentioned once that it was doable, and I mentioned it to Ryan and his eyes got as big as saucers. Apparently, it's his favorite cake. It's mine, too. Who knew?

Unfortunately, I got bad news yesterday, too. Diana (friend since forever, maid of honor in this crazy affair) called to tell me that her grandmother died early yesterday morning. The funeral is tomorrow, so I will be taking the day off work to be there, with my boss's blessing, thank goodness. Diana was there for my grandma's funeral a bunch of years back, so there's no way I would not be there for her.

I forgot to bring any of my knitting with me, so I won't be making it to Stitch-n-Bitch tonight. I am really missing being there and seeing everyone! I am going to have to clear my schedule for next week so I can be there finally. In the meantime, I guess my stitch-picking-up for the tank will have to wait.

Wanted to give an update on the Moo blanket. I finally had the chance to wash it with the Synthrapol, and it didn't do much, unfortunately. Maybe the areas which had run were slightly lighter, but it was pretty hard to see a difference. I finally realized that although I could easily see the difference, it was not so obvious to other people that the ivory yarn was now greyish. So, I gave it to my cousin, and when I explained what had happened, she told me I was nuts, and that she thought it was beautiful and she was so happy that I had made something so fantastic for her baby, etc. So, although it wasn't what I wanted it to be, all's well that ends well, I suppose!

I managed to have a wedding/knitting nightmare last night. Pretty impressive. It was the usual scenario: the wedding day arrives, and somehow I have done none of the planning necessary, woke up late and have scary hair, no makeup and a wrinkled dress. Not so unusual. But in this one I actually forgot to knit the bridesmaid tops, so the girls also have nothing to wear and I am sitting panicking about myself and wondering what scary outfits they are going to show up in. Yeesh. I need this stress, right?

The funny thing is that yesterday we actually took care of one very important person’s wedding outfit, for the most part. Ryan and I went outlet shopping with friends of ours, and he found a fantastic tux at the Giorgio Armani outlet. It’s absolutely gorgeous, with 4 buttons, the trademark beautiful Armani cut, great fabric, subtle styling – the works. It was less than 1/3 of the regular price, so it was comparable to buying a "pretty nice" tuxedo full-price. He was very happy with it, and so am I. And if his animation career takes off in the Hollywood direction, he’ll be able to wear it to Oscar shows for years to come!

I’m excited to go to dinner tonight with Leanne, who has an afternoon appointment in the city. We didn’t get a chance to exchange presents before the holidays, so I am going to give hers (and get mine) tonight. We’re also going to talk about my wedding cake, since as she pointed out, it’s closer than it seems (152 days, according to theknot.com).

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes last week when I was so bummed. I still don’t have any resolution on the health insurance issue, but I’ll figure it out one way or another. It’s only money, right? Ha. Well, anyway, I think I am emerging from my post-holiday, post-moving funk, so I’ll be posting regularly again.

Well, I've mostly let go of the anxiety surrounding my health insurance. It's in Omaha's hands now. Either they will decide to process my application late, or they won't and I will have to pay for COBRA from my last job all year. Not much I can do about it at this point, as I don't have a time machine.

So, a little late, but Hawaii was nice. Not the beachy trip it would have been if we were alone or with my family, but still fun. We did manage one solid day on Waikiki Beach, and that was fantastic. Spent some fun time with the family, and with Kristy and Tom's adorable new puppy, Tweek (yes, he's named after the South Park character). I came home really jet-lagged and tired, and I think I'm finally catching up to reality again.

Last night I went to see such a fun show - "Mamma Mia!". What an entertaining night! They walked the cheese line perfectly, never straying to the dark side. I laughed so much, and felt like dancing afterwards. Unfortunately it was Thursday and I still had to haul my ass out of bed to get to work today. Yipes. After being out and not sleeping well Wednesday night, too, I am really comatose today. Luckily my boss and most of our project team are down at the client, and I didn't have to go. My office mate and I are planning a long lunch in celebration of this fact.

Have I been knitting? Yes, of course. I finished the front and back of Kristy's bridesmaid top, and all that is left is to pick up the stitches around the neck and armholes to knit a band. Unfortunately, my first attempt on the neckling looked like absolute crap, so I pulled it out before I even got halfway. I'm not sure if it's because it's a V-neck or what, but I will have to do some reading or head to my LYS for some assistance. Or bring it to SnB, if I can manage to haul ass over there this coming week. I think in the meantime I may start the second of the tanks, since I don't need the same size needles.

I should probably post a Happy New Year message, and tell you all about my trip to Hawaii, but I just can't right now. My mind is way too preoccupied with something I've screwed up royally. Apparently, the online health insurance enrollment packet I received a few days before my trip had to be completed by December 19th, and I didn't notice that date so I didn't do it. Now, unless they will accept the paper form and make an exception for me (I'm filling it out to give to the HR person tomorrow but it isn't her decision, it's someone in Omaha's), I will be without any medical benefits until this time next year, or will have to pay $310 a month for COBRA continuation from my old job. I'm really really upset about it and can't get it out of my mind. I am never that irresponsible, but since moving, all my paperwork has been falling by the wayside because I don't have a good routine yet. If I've screwed myself with this one, that will pretty much be the worst thing I've screwed up in YEARS.

Not much time, we're off to the airport in a little bit. If I have time, I'll post an update from Hawaii, but just in case, I hope everyone who's celebrating has a very merry Christmas, and a happy New Year! Aloha!