Tick, tick, tick

Oh my gosh! Where DID the time go? I cannot believe it is the end of August, and I have 16 days (including today) to pull this wedding thing off! Today is supposed to be a day off, but I was up at "normal" time (as if waking up before 5 am is "normal" by any standards). Granted, I haven't accomplished much beyond playing with the puppy (OK, dog ... she is 4 years old), and I need to be out of the house in about 90 minutes to start my various and sundry errands.

I had to fly to Richmond on Wednesday to attend a meeting. It is amazing how my everyday life decisions are revolving around "THE WEDDING." Normally, I would have flown up the day before and stayed at a hotel in Emeryville. But not this time! I decided to fly up and back on the same day. I can't fly out of John Wayne and get to Oakland early enough to make a 9 am meeting, so I had to drive to Ontario. And since I had a rental car to return after the meeting ended at 4:00 (oh, did I mention traffic?), the 5:00 return flight to Ontario is out of the question. Let's just say that it's a good thing I am getting paid for OT right now instead of accruing comp time. If it wasn't for $$, I don't think I would purposely subject myself to a 20+ hour day...

But needless to say, sitting at the airport (and sitting at the airport... oh, did I mention that I was sitting at the airport?) provided me with some time to start putting my "to do" list to actual dates. I was doing OK until we met with Pastor Frank last night to work on the ceremony. I am only 2 days into the "to do list with dates", and I am already a day behind! And now I have 1 hr and 15 minutes to get out of the house. ACK! Where are Franck and Howard from Father of the Bride?

Saturday's Forecast: Sunny in the morning, showers in the afternoon

I had my first bridal shower on last Saturday. It was a blast! The organizers did a terrific job, and the guests were a true joy. The games were great, and even showcased the talents and humor of many of the women. It was to have been a kitchen shower, and wouldn't you know it... there were a few who didn't "get the memo" (to quote at least one of the so-called "offenders"). It just added to the charm of the shower, because at least one clever guest said that I had to explain how the non-kitchen items would be used in the kitchen! The first set of towels brought out many peals of laughter from everyone when one of the ladies suggested how BW could use the towels (or more appropriately the washcloth with a rubberband).

Looking back, although every bride gets excited about the gifts received at showers (and would probably be disappointed if she didn't get any), I think that the fun, friendship and fellowship were the most priceless gifts of the day. I was truly honored that all of these women in my church family were there. I have another shower (tomorrow) with friends from outside of the church... and quite honestly my biggest disappointment is that some of the friends that I would have love to have seen won't be able to attend. Things don't matter... people do. In fact, when I showed BW the gifts we had received at the first shower, he was blown away by many of the selections. We had registered for many things that we had thought that we would never receive (as one of my coworkers called it, it was for "grins and giggles"). We have truly been humbled by the generosity of friends.