Hangover Friday

I adore Harpoon's UFO beer - but I swear it causes harsher headaches. I really do. *sigh*

Of course, it could have been the glass of Stella Artois I had, too. But I think that was the cause of my slightly queasy stomach during the train ride home last night.

Beh.

In any case, had a good time at my company's holiday party last night. I didn't stay too late, but I was there for about four hours. The food was decent. I loved the place (International Cafe on High Street in Boston). A newer employee in our office does a damned good Grace Slick, based on her karaoke skills last night.

And today, I have off. Which means I'm doing the following in roughly this order:

1) Coffee
2) Finishing Christmas cards
3) Throwing a couple loads of laundry in
4) Throwing a load of dishes in the washer
5) Writing the draft of my pinch-hit piece for OSK
6) Burn the photo CD for my mom
7) Pack for the trip to PA
8) Finish the wedding thank you notes for family I will see this weekend
9) Drop off Christmas cards to the mail

It sounds like a lot, but I'm an admin assistant. I multitask. Well. :) I should have the vast majority of this done by 1 p.m., and then I'll slack off all afternoon.

Wednesday musings

- I have listened to John Barrowman's Another Side quite a few times lately. I absolutely adore his versions of Time After Time, Weekend in New England and Heaven. His version of All Out of Love is quite good, too. (Is it just me, or am I hearing his Scots come through on that? Maybe I'm just too used to Russell Hitchcock's Aussie...) It's a fantastic album top to bottom, IMHO.

- Took last night off from all things fanfic once I posted the first half of my fic due yesterday. Needed to for my brain's sake. Getting back to it today. Once I get the rest of the OT3 fic posted and finish up the pinch hit piece I'm doing for OSK, I'll be taking a writing break for a while. I have cross stitching that's screaming at me to get done.

- I really need to get my Christmas cards finished and mailed. At this point, folks MIGHT get them by New Year's...

- I really need to buy something for my dad & his wife today. *sigh*

- My friends list on LJ amuses me, especially the random threads about sex toys. :)

- It's sad that I'm excited that Erich and I are buying a snowblower. But I suppose that's what you have to look forward to when you're married and homeowners. Goddess, I'm turning into my parents.

- Speaking of Goddess... two days until Yule. I probably should get on thinking about what I'm doing this year.

Christmas Meme

Via friends on LiveJournal...


1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? Wrapping paper.

2. Real tree or artificial? Real tree. I grew up with an artificial one, so now I'm a stickler for doing the whole tree lot tradition. :)

3. When do you put up the tree? Usually the second weekend of December

4. When do you take the tree down? Anywhere between Epiphany and my birthday (a five day window)

5. Do you like eggnog? Yes, the soy kind with nutmeg sprinkled on top.

6. Favorite gift received as a child? One year nearly everything I received for Christmas was on a Cabbage Patch theme - and I was in pure bliss because it was during the whole craze. I still have the dolls I received that year. :)

7. Do you have a nativity scene? No.

8. Hardest person to buy for? Either of my parents - because they always tell me they don't want anything.

9. Easiest person to buy for? Erich, because he normally has a list that's easy to find.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? I can't recall.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail

12. Favorite Christmas Movie? A Christmas Story

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Sometime mid-December when I realize I'm now on a time crunch to get stuff mailed off.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? No.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? The huge Polish dinner spread at my grandparents' on Christmas Eve

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree? Clear (although I don't mind either... just no blinkies!)

17. Favorite Christmas song? Classical - Carol of the Bells
Modern - tossup between "Do They Know It's Christmas" and "The Closing of the Year"

18. Stay home or travel for Christmas? Stay home

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer? Yes

20. Angel on the tree top or a star? We put a Santa on the top of ours. :)

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning? One Christmas Eve, the rest in the morning

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year? Pushy, pissy people who scream about the "War on Christmas."

Dear New England

Why is it that every time it snows, the mentality prevails that it's something so deathly horrible that everyone becomes complete morons, freaks out, can't get anywhere, and just gets an incurible case of the snow stupids?

WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT YESTERDAY?!?

Learn to drive correctly on snow. Stop being an ass and trying to cut the lines of cars, causing people to spin out, slam on their brakes, or get into accidents because you're being such an ass.

And plows? DO YOUR DAMN JOB. If the main roads are too crowded with cars, do us a favor and start cleaning off the secondary and terciary roads so people can use them. Don't sit there with your plow up, just watching people.

It took my husband FOUR HOURS to drive what normally takes EIGHT MINUTES. He almost ran out of gas in the process. I don't doubt many people did. People in my office had to abandon their cars due to running out of gas - from FULL TANKS.

*head desk*

ETA: This will be my last post for Holidailies. This was not appreciated and makes me very uncomfortable remaining with the project. The community owners asked for honest opinions, and I gave mine. I feel that honesty is important, and what I gave was constructive and honest criticism and suggestions on how to go about a project like this in the future.

Squirming again

Well, it was a productive night last night. Got the draft of the OSK piece done. I'm fairly happy with it. I could do more, but I can always do more, I suppose. There's always room for improvement. But I needed to get something to the beta readers (thanks guys!!!) and just feel productive about it.

To my surprise before I went to bed, I had beta reads returned from two folks - eep! That was fast. Granted, it's 2,000 words... but still, really fast. I haven't looked at comments yet, though. I want to get the OT3 fic draft done and sent off before I start editing. Keeping focus is good, and I've been struggling with it as it is.

My plan this evening is to loosen up with a small amount of alcoholic shots of my choice and then get to writing the sex scenes of this fic. I don't feel comfortable writing smut on the train - just in case someone's staring over my shoulder. Writing smut in general is very... well... revealing, I think. It definitely exposes a writer in ways that are unique. Perhaps it's one of those societal undercurrents gone wrong - or just my slightly more conservative upbringing. I don't know. But yes, it does make me feel like I'm exposed and on uncomfortable display.

Add to that the unknown of writing male-on-male sex, which I have no personal experience with beyond the occasional purient curiosity regarding gay porn (i.e. "how the heck do guys do this together?", and well, it's getting a bit tougher to figure out. Now add on the third party into this OT3 fic, and things are getting MUCH more confusing to figure out.

*Gasp* Writing threesomes? Measi, you should be ashamed of yourself!

So yeah - I've decided that in order to write this, I need to be drunk.

In case at some point anyone reading it thinks it's completely out of left field and crazy and wonders if I were drunk when I wrote this, I can quite honestly say "Yes. Yes I was."

It'll make me feel better, at least.

Popping the prOn cherry,
Mel.

Holidays and Charity

I've now been involved in the Holidailies writing project in December for three years. To my surprise today, there's an announcement that Holidailies is planning on doing some sort of a charity drive via the site, and that today's prompt was to write about ideas.

I have to admit that I'm a little bothered by this. And to prevent myself from sounding like a grinch, here's why:

Charity, when done correctly, is something that's personal, in my opinion. I don't need to broadcast who I've given money to, nor who I've donated time to. Quite frankly, I don't feel comfortable announcing what I've done because it sounds far too much like grandstanding to me and a case of who's outdonating who. I have my personal interests of where to donate my money and my time, and I leave it at that.

And it bothers me a bit that a few days into Holidailies, there's now a press for charity, and the "if every participant gives xyz"... NO. I understand it's optional to give, but it's the principle of the thing. If you're planning that sort of a side-project, state that up-front. It sounds disingenuous to me a few days into the project. I don't appreciate peer pressure to give - particularly at a time where I'm scraping every penny and every minute of time to figure out what way is up because yes, it's the holidays AND particularly not through a journal portal that has a completely different focus.

And... if for no other reason, I simply don't have the time and energy during the month of December to go research the charitable organization that may be chosen. And yes, I am extremely picky as to where I donate my money and/or time. Because many charitable organizations are tied to larger organizations or corporations that I do not want to associate with if possible.

Donating my money so Holidailies can continue? Fine. No problem.
Donating my money to a charity organization as of yet unidentified? No. Absolutely not.

If you want donations for charity, please get the site up prior to five days before Holidailies starts so folks can research your planned charities.

And I'm sorry to sound grouchy about it, but considering that no one's commenting on my entries for Holidailies anyway, what does my opinion matter, eh?

Cold

Sometime after lunch yesterday, the really cold winter air pressed into Boston. By the time I left work, the temperature was somewhere down around 20 degrees. And me, being the crazy "I fear no cold!" Montanan that I am, was wearing only a padded hoodie. No hat. No scarf. No mittens.

I'd be lying if I claimed I wasn't completely freezing when I exited the train in Providence - but I have a theory about it, see. Because I refuse to lose my Montanan "fear no cold" winter cred.

It's the station's fault. The tunnel where the tracks rest are under the rest of the station - so there's the wind tunnel effect. Plus it's all concrete - unadorned, basic concrete - which means it's sucking the cold in further, right?

Plus there are the metal rails. AND - because I'm on an Acela line, there are concrete railroad ties as well.

See? It's all of the concrete - which is making me cold.

Yeah. That's it.

.

.

.

WHAT?!?

Stopping Time

via today's prompt at Holidailies, which asked for a story about snow.

ETA: This entry was noted as a "Best of Holidailies 2007" posting. Hooray! :) Thank you to whomever nominated me!

Saturday, January 23, 2005...

Funny that it's now nearly three years ago, but I can remember the entire evening like it was yesterday. Big events in your life tend to be that way, don't they?

I spent that weekend in January holed up in the Park Plaza Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts. As in years past, my other half, Erich, and I were attending the Arisia fandom convention, held every January.

It had already shaped up to be a unique convention experience. Our requested king-sized bed had been upgraded - for free- to a mini-suite, allowing us both a bedroom and a sitting room for the remainder of the con. In addition, our room was on Dealer's Row, where a good portion of the convention wares dealers set up shop within hotel rooms. Every year, it's one of the bustling areas of the con - and my personal favorite to hang out on - and here I was, with my hotel room on Dealer's Row.

Life couldn't be better.

As Friday night and Saturday morning rolled on, reports about a winter storm brewed, but all was well. The con staff kept weather updates in the main hallways. A few presenters and panel guests cancelled out to fly home before it got too bad, but everything went on as a normal con.

Erich and I decided to go out into the city to grab dinner somewhere in Back Bay before it got too bad. We wandered two blocks down the street to Fire + Ice, one of our favorite restaurants (and the one where we'd gone on our first date... so it was sentimental). The snow was just starting to fall as we went inside.

The restaurant was dead. The snow was beginning to swirl, and in true New England snow-phobic fashion, few people had dared head out into the streets. We took our time, had a lovely dinner, and then headed outside...

where we found nearly six inches of snow already on the ground. The snow was really swirling now. The windtunnel that is Back Bay Boston was in full force. And then Erich looked at me and asked if we could go one more block over, just for a second, so he could see how the snow was swirling in the Hancock intersection.

I thought it was a bit odd - because the corner of Clarendon and St. James Streets is the LAST place you want to be during a windstorm in Boston. The buildings in that intersection create a horrible little microcosm of weather, and in light breeze conditions, it can feel like a hurricane in there. But since Erich had worked in the John Hancock building for a while, and it was close, I agreed, and we plodded over. The snow was piling up on the sidewalks, well over my ankles. It was swirling everywhere in the air, getting difficult to see.

But what I could see was lovely - the snow was piling into little ripples on the stone buildings, creating miniature drifts above window casings. Very lovely.

And then Erich stopped, just short of the stairs in front of the old John Hancock building.

And then suddenly, he went down on one knee.

Now - you know those cliched "and time stood still" phrases in literature? The ones you think are totally bogus?

Yeah. Well, they happen. Especially when someone proposes marriage to you, in the dark, in a blizzard, when you're the only two people for blocks in Back Bay Boston because you're the only two people stupid enough to be out in this weather.

Time stood absolutely still. I said yes, of course.

He placed the ring on my finger, and we had the quickest of kisses before time, wind, and snow came roaring back at us, forcing us to return to the warmth of the hotel, to our lucky upgraded room, as twenty more inches of snow piled through the night.

Wedding Preparation Redux

2007 was, by and large, the year that I managed to go completely insane. The vast majority of it was spent dealing with all things wedding planning. And much to my annoyance, it wound up taking up every ounce of my life that wasn't devoted to the work I had to do to pay the bills.

First thing I thought of waking up? Wedding stuff.
Last thing I thought of before falling asleep? Wedding stuff.

Two months and change post-wedding, I'm so relieved that it's not happening anymore. And other than my thank-you notes that are underway and getting whittled down... I have no other wedding stuff left-over that needs to be done.

I don't miss it. I don't wish wedding planning on anyone in the world. Because it was pure hell. My wedding day was beautiful - I had a fantastic time. But the months leading up to it were pure hell.

So when one of my friends asked for help with her wedding preparations, I felt guilty saying that no, I couldn't come to her house yesterday. This weekend was my only one in December currently not booked with something or other, and I knew I had lots to get done personally. I definitely wanted to help, particularly because she's been having a rough go at work lately. Wedding stress is just one of those things that, well, takes over.

But as it worked out, as long as I didn't have to do the traveling, I was fine. She was happy to come down to my house, and so today she did. We sat in the living room, watching the first three episodes of Doctor Who since its rebirth in 2005 (in an attempt to hook her fiance). Then we watched the first two episodes of Blackpool because Tricia, like me, is a David Tennant fan and needs to enjoy the man in all of his native Scottish accented glory, complete with scruffy five o'clock shadow and singing. David Tennant singing Kenny Roger's The Gambler into an ice cream cone microphone? Oh yes. It is awesome. I promise.

It's a shame the U.S. producers didn't just go to get permission to air Blackpool, rather than try to remake it into the tripe that became Viva Laughlin.

Anyway... the assistance Tricia needed for her wedding was folding paper cranes. She's doing the 1,000 paper cranes for good luck thing for her wedding. She's smart to be getting started now for a June wedding. :) So as we watched TV, she, her fiance, my husband, our friend Matt, and I folded cranes.

In about three hours - including breaks for food - we managed to fold 58 cranes. She now has over 200 done.

And I can fold paper cranes from memory now.

Kinda cool.

Always off-season

I'm convinced that the stores are completely out of whack with reality about the holiday season.

I know - thank you Captain obvious. Where have I been, eh?

But here's what really bothers me. The season doesn't match with the Season. It's December 1st, and at Lowes this afternoon, all Christmas ornaments were on clearance. Everything 25% off. Never mind the fact that it's still 24 days until Christmas. No. The end-of-season clearance sales now begin just as the true holiday season is just getting started.

I'm sorry. I'm not one of the crazy people who gets into the holiday spirit in... what was it... September? I think that's when the Christmas tree displays were put up at Lowes this year. Kid you not - there was the glowing beacon of Christmas spirit while the summer flowers were just beginning to fade.

Mind you - by the end of September, Halloween stuff is on clearance sale. By the week of Halloween, you can barely find bags of candy to give out. The stuff you do find is the stuff that used to rot at the bottom of the treat bags for being "sub-par." And personally, I don't want to be those neighbors who give out the crappy candy. But if I have Halloween candy in the house for more than a few days, I know I'm going to start raiding the bag. I don't want to buy it in September, guys.

And now the Christmas decorating season is on clearance on the very first day of December. How crazy has this shopping frenzy become? All I hear is the stores complaining about how hard a holiday season it's going to be. Well, rather than overpower a quarter of the year for holiday shopping, condense it, return it to the proper time of year, and possibly those of us who are tired of Halloween and Thanksgiving being speed bumps toward the shopping frenzy would return to the stores.

Worst of it is that trying to keep your business to the stores that actually do observe the proper holiday season is becoming harder to do. Most stores are taking down their holiday decorations the week before Christmas. This makes no sense to me. I mean, it's not a religious holiday to me, but it reinforces just how superficial and economy-based the celebration of the holiday has become.

Oh - and Lowes? Could you actually have the paper leaf bags in stock the week that the leaves have just fallen from the trees, rather than taking them off of the shelves as "out of season" before the leaves even turn color?

Would appreciate it.

Thanks.

What the heck has been up with me...

So, if it weren't obvious, I haven't been posting a lot lately. Although that should be clarified with an over here. Because at LiveJournal, I've been extremely active. For some reason, it's just an easier place to congregate. I dunno - maybe it has some of the ease of the old Diary-X system. I know when people update there because I have friends' lists.

I feel a bit lonely over here at times.

*sigh*

But anyway... I can't believe it's the end of November already. And contrary to the silence in my blog, no... I didn't do NaNoWriMo this year. I signed up, but never really got writing, never felt all that jazzed for it... so... meh.

What HAS been happening is a whole lot of running around since the weekend of our wedding. Absolute madness. Life returning to normal, scrambling to start returning to the things both Erich and I had blown off for months as part of our "planning a wedding, can't talk now!" excuse. It's amazing how off-kilter life gets when planning such a big event. I am finally starting to feel - this WEEK - that I'm myself again. It took two months to feel normal. Insane. I think the wedding took a permanent toll on my ability to remember things, though. I used to have a pretty good memory - but now I barely can remember things week to week. It's maddening.

Married life is good. Honestly, it doesn't feel that different than it did before, although I imagine I'll find little things along the way that feel different. I have an extra ring on the finger, and official documents are slowly being transferred from one name to another. Hearing Erich's last name as my own is a bit weird. But I CAN sign it comfortably, which is a relief. But it's so comfortable saying, "this is my husband."

I take that as a very good thing. Especially being the one who was convinced she'd be alone her entire life.

Now that the wedding's over, we're both moving into our own little worlds again, which always circle one another and about half the time come together - the comfortable balance that we always seem to have.

Erich's been extremely busy with the affairs of his mom's estate. Things are moving along, slowly but surely. Honestly, from what I gather, the vast majority of the runaround work is done. Now it's down to selling the house in Massachusetts that Debbie had inherited half of from her mother (Debbie's sister owns the other half). Selling the house, particularly in this market, will be a challenge. But it will be a huge relief to both Erich's aunt and him. And hopefully it'll be able to move us forward in some house updates that I'd love to get started - like... getting rid of the wallpaper that's partially coming down on its own, replastering, repainting, etc.

Meanwhile, I've been busy on the weekends with all things sorority related, it seems. I've spent a good deal of my weekends since late September up in Boston for one reason or another - alumni meetings, rush events and degrees with the actives. I even took a little sister (kin sister, actually, since I'm alum). His name's Mark. It's odd being officially tied to a line in the sorority again - since my direct line of little sisters died before I graduated from college. But it's fantastic to be tied closer to the chapter as a whole again.

And I've been doing that odd thing that's sprouted up in the past couple years - having a social life. I don't know where this came from. I really don't. But suddenly, I have a fairly large and diverse circle of friends, any of which I can call and say "hey, let's go do xyz on Friday," and actually have them say "sure, yeah!" So weird. I spent so many years as the wallflower that always felt left behind. Having friends that actually WANT to do things together? God, it's wonderful.

The geeky stuff still continues, although not as intense as it used to be. That may return, though. We're just now getting back into a couple Dungeons & Dragons and other tabletop games.

Sports? Oh, gotta love New England right now. :) Well, I guess folks outside of New England don't like us right now. But you know what I mean.

I've continued to dig into all things Doctor Who in my spare time. I'm currently watching the very early episodes... from 1963. I'm still amused how the TARDIS for the most part is exactly the same - even the sound effects! With the WGA strike, I'm thankful for the volumes of Who material I have to dig through. Only 43 years... should keep me busy.

Work continues to go well. I've now been at my job for a year. Other than a few workmates, I don't miss the other place at all. I do find, though, that some of the things people gripe about at my current office simply don't bother me - because they're NOWHERE near as hellish as what I dealt with before. It's just amazing.

And that's about it, I suppose.

Much more to come - Holidailies is just around the corner. :)

Random questions meme

via Gentle Blessing, because I'm too sleepy to do too much else right now...

1. what's your name? Melissa

2. how old are you? 32, counting down to an eleventy.

3. where are you from? are you living there right now? Montana. No, I live on the other side of the country.

4. is it cold where you are? It's not quite freezing, but it's fairly damp and cold outside - it's one of those typical rainy November days in New England.

5. what's the time? 9:36 a.m.

6. what are you wearing? Red sweater, khakis, penny loafers

7. what was the last thing you listened to? "Hung Up" by Madonna on my iPod

8. what was the last thing you ate? Bagel Bites for dinner last night

9. what was the last thing you watched on tv? The Patriots-Eagles game last night

10. what's your favourite tv show and why? Doctor Who, because it has such an odd format on TV (and well, David Tennant...)

11. quick! find a book or something with text on it! flip to a random page and read some of it! go! The only book in front of me is the style guidelines for documents here at work... it's VERY unexciting. However, if I must... "Coverage colums - set at 80%, Limits Column, set at 20%"). See? Dull.

12. what was the last movie you saw? how was it? Gone Baby Gone. It was very good, and very thought-provoking. Ben Affleck should stay behind the camera, IMHO.

13. do you think you have an accent? talk about that. I know I do (we all do), but I don't have a distinct regional one. It's a blend of Montana western "flat" with the mix of eastern Pennsylvania from my parents mixed with the conversational rhythm of New England. I interchange slang phrases, and occasionally drop R's these days. It's very confusing - I tend to stumble over my own words quite a bit.

Turkey Noby!

Turkey Noby!
Originally uploaded by measi.

In honor of today's holiday, I present the turkey I'm NOT cooking today...

But look at those drumsticks! :)


Happy Thanksgiving all!

Megapaw lives it up

Hoodz4
Originally uploaded by measi.

In case there was any doubt, the newest member of our clan, Hoodsie, is showing all sorts of difficulty transisting from a life out on the streets to being a housecat.

Evidence of this is shown in this photo, as well as four others on Flickr.

He's struggling horribly. Can't you see?

(goes all girly... look at all of those extra toes!!!! OMG he's got so many toes!!!)

It's November, and that means...

It's time to start thinking about holiday card exchanges! (*gasp*) I know, I know. It seems early. But really, truly - it isn't.

So here's the deal - in years past, I've done individual exchanges with cards. And I'm still very happy to do that - if that's what you'd prefer, lemme know in your comment. That way, you won't be put on a master list.

BUT - a few other bloggers I've known casually over the years have hosted bigger exchanges, and I want to attempt it this year. Because really - it's ALL about getting happy mail among the mountains of mags and bills in November and December.

What I need from you:

1) Your LJ name or your blogging nickname (if off LJ):
2) Your web address (if off LJ):
3) Your name and complete mailing address:
4) Your email address (for sending you the master list):
5) If you have a preference for either religious or non-religious cards, please let me know:
6) If this list goes over 30 people, do you want to be part of a 30-person only group, or the list at large?
7) Any other info you'd like to add (for my organizing benefit)?

Send this to me in either a private email to measiwitch(at)gmail.com, with the subject line of Holiday Cards, or reply via comment to this entry. ALL COMMENTS ARE SCREENED. You'll get a confirm email that I received your address.

Anyone who wants to participate, please add your info no later than November 11. The list will be organized and emailed no later than November 15th so folks have plenty of time to send cards.

Thursday Thirteen #30: Personal Code

One of my friends on LiveJournal asked me for some rough religious differences between Paganism and Wicca yesterday, since she, like many people, don't really understand alternative religions. In the middle of that post, I included a nutshell list of my own religious and moral convictions.

As part of the new religious year, I feel it's appropriate as my Thursday Thirteen.

Thirteen Convictions of my Faith:

1) Belief in both Goddess and God, both as individual forms and as the universal life force that binds everything together.

2) Casual adherance to the Wiccan Rede ("An' it harm none, do what you will")

3) Strict adherance to the Law of Three (Anything you do, good or bad, will return three times as strong to you.)

4) The entire world is my ritual space. I create sacred space where and when I feel the need, rather than having a set space to worship.

5) A belief that the Divine and Nature are inseparable because the Divine gives energy to Nature. Under this belief is also the need for balance - cause and effect, positive and destructive, life and death. All are on an endless loop, constantly renewing themselves, then destroying themselves, and then renewal once more. The seasons of the year are the most visible example of this.

6) A requirement to rededicate myself every year, on the anniversary of my initial initation. (Lughnasadh, Aug. 2nd).

7) A belief that the soul rests after death, and then is reincarnated to learn the things missed in the last lifetime as well as exposure to new things

8) Marking the eight Sabbats through ritual (which I haven't been good at as of late). The names I use for them (there are several, depending on trad) and dates I celebrate them are: - Samhain (Oct. 31), Yule (Dec. 21), Imbolc (Feb. 2), Ostara (Mar. 21), Beltane (May 1), Midsummer (June 23), Lughnasadh (Aug. 2), Mabon (Sept. 23)

9) No importance placed on the 26 Esbats - while I admire the cycles of the moon for their beauty, I have never felt a pull to mark them religiously.

10) A belief that mundane means should always be used before magickal means to solve a problem. Spellwork is not part of my ritual, unless I really need to focus my energy on a problem. I use it only as a last resort.

11) A belief that humans can touch and join with the Divine, albeit temporarily, through different methods - meditation, Drawing Down the Moon, and consentual sex being among them

12) A rejection of the idea of sin, both original and ongoing. Sin is something that you will pay for after death unless you repent. I do not accept long-delayed consequences to actions and feel that "sin," as taught in Christianity, tends to be a "well, we really don't like that you do this... but we'll give you a loophole to feel better about yourself later through pennance" type action. Wrongdoing brings negative consequences (again, the Law of Three) here and now. We are all responsible for our actions toward others and toward the world.

13) Strong belief that faith is fiercely individual - my beliefs are only as valid as the respect I give to the right of others to have their own beliefs. This doesn't mean I have to agree with others' beliefs, or even respect what they believe in. But I do have to respect their rights to believe in something different than myself.



Comments are welcome on this Thursday Thirteen. You are welcome to disagree & discuss.

Sitting Ritual

So... I'm planning on sitting Samhain ritual for the first time in, well... a while.

Partially because I have someone to quietly mourn and farewell (my mother in law).

Partially because this year's Samhain definitely is the passing of a time in my life.

Partially because I haven't sat ritual in quite a while.

Partially because I do, honestly, feel a yearning to sit.


I'm now at the point with ritual that I don't remember my own circle casting by heart. I used to have it to memory. I haven't cast a circle in, gods, two years? Three? Something like that. I'm a tad rusty. My athame's probably a tad rusty, too.


Le sigh. I'm a bad Pagan.

The real question is whether I sit tomorrow night, or do I wait until Friday, go to the TBS 1st degree, and then go out to my college ritual spot - the dock - and sit there. I haven't been out there in a few years. It is tempting.

But then again, I haven't exactly sat ritual at my own house yet, either.

Decisions, decisions...

Today will be an adventure...

And this morning's trip in on the train was only the beginning, I think...

But before I get to the day, OMG - people like The Ritual of Tea. I'm seriously stunned - because I was kicking myself miserably all weekend as I tried to grasp on to this one and write it. Even now, I have no grasp on the plot guys, and I'm in a bit of disbelief. So yeah, I'm stunned... absolutely, bouncing with glee stunned. (insert over-played Sally Field reference here).

And on to the adventure of the day...

First off - free taco day. So for all of you lucky sods who can get to a Taco Bell (and stand in the line that's guaranteed to be there), go munch for me. Given that the only three I'm aware of in the greater Boston area are all too far away from me, I have no chance in hell. BUT... for those Bostonians who don't know where they are - 700 Comm Ave on BU Campus, the Cambridgeside Galleria food court, and on Mass Ave north of Porter Square. I'm sure there are others, but those are the three I've personally been to.

(Fellow Rhodys, both of the ones on Route 2 in Cranston & Warwick are now renovated and reopened... and of course, there's the one at Providence Place. Go forth and taco).

Second - the Commuter Rail trains after 3 p.m. have no express service, so if you take a train that usually runs express in any way (that would be me), it's not happening. With the Red Sox parade happening, everything is insane. People were coming in on the 7:10 from Providence this morning - to the point that they had to turn people away from the train due to over-capacity. Trains after 3 aren't going to be anywhere on time due to this, folks, so be prepared for it. I don't count on getting home anywhere before 7:30 tonight - and that's only a half-hour late.

And on top of it, I'm sitting reception today.

At least I can take my frustrations out on carving pumpkins tonight when I get home, and then introduce my husband to the glory that are roasted pumpkin seeds, which I discovered he's never had before. I'm a bit stunned by that.

Apparently, it's a week of being stunned.

Fanfic: The Ritual of Tea

Title: The Ritual of Tea
Pairing: Ten/Rose
Rating: PG
Written For: _elioclya_
Prompts: "Anything with tea - tea is good." and "Chrall, 16th Century"
Author's Notes: This piece is combining two ficathons - the first ficathon on time_x_space and the Anywhere but Cardiff ficathon on time_and_chips. Both are late, and my writer's ego is more than a little bruised at the mo' for that. A longer, more-in depth piece with Nine is also in the works relating to _elioclya_'s prompt - but Chris' voice is being cranky with me and is giving me the silent treatment. David's won't shut up. (typical, eh?)

Now posted over on my livejournal.

Anonymous comments are screened. :)

Life.Is.Sweet.

I'm gonna tell you a story
I'm gonna tell you about my town
I'm gonna tell you a big bad story, baby
Aww, it's all about my town

Yeah, down by the river
Down by the banks of the river Charles (aw, that's what's happenin' baby)
That's where you'll find me
Along with lovers, fuggers, and thieves (aw, but they're cool people)
Well I love that dirty water
Oh, Boston, you're my home (oh, you're the Number One place)
Frustrated women (I mean they're frustrated)
Have to be in by twelve o'clock (oh, that's a shame)
But I'm wishin' and a-hopin, oh
That just once those doors weren't locked (I like to save time for
my baby to walk around)
Well I love that dirty water
Oh, Boston, you're my home (oh, yeah)

Because I love that dirty water
Oh, oh, Boston, you're my home (oh, yeah)

Well, I love that dirty water (I love it, baby)
I love that dirty water (I love Baw-stun)
I love that dirty water (Have you heard about the Strangler?)
I love that dirty water (I'm the man, I'm the man)
I love that dirty water (Owww!)
I love that dirty water (Come on, come on)


YEAH SOX!

Happy Meme

I've been tagged by a few people, so yeah... jumping on the bandwagon...

Ten things which have made me happy recently...

1. Boston sports - it doesn't get any better than this. Red Sox? Patriots? Well, okay... Boston University could have a good year in hockey. But seriously, doesn't get much better. :)

2. Erich surprising me with absolute adoration yesterday for the marking of one month of marriage. He made coffee, had flowers sent to work, and made me dinner. All with the joke of "congrats - we've succeeded longer than 95% of celebrity marriages already!" Heh. :)

3. My mom finally went through with her hysterectomy surgery that's been overdue for 15+ years, and is recovering wonderfully. She's home, and only three days out, she was able to get up and down the stairs on her own, and isn't in much pain (just feels pressure from stitches). It's a relief to me, because she really needed to have this done when I was in high school.

4. Sisterhood - between silly, getting absolutely soaked in a downpour memories built while hosting a concert reception on Friday to seeing a potential new class of Tau Beta Sigma sisters come to the Tea on Sunday? Makes this old lady sister quite proud. :)

5. It's autumn, and the leaves are now officially in full color in our area of Rhode Island. They look amazing.

6. The completely unseasonable 80 degree, low-humidity, sunny weather we've had the last few days. Absolutely phenominal.

7. Getting a kick-ass first formal review at work. :) It's wonderful to be appreciated for doing my job.

8. Waking up yesterday morning curled around Noby. Usually Noby just tries to nibble my fingers in the morning because he wants to play, but when he's snuggly, Noby really is the coziest cat to doze with. He's a little love bug.

9. One week until Halloween! :)

10. I am about 75% done with one fanfic draft, and have a rough idea of the other fic that I'll be churning out this weekend. And then I'll be caught up!

Freaking at the date

So... I've been bringing my laptop with me to and from work for the better part of two weeks to get my fanfic challenges written?

Yeah. THAT's going well. I have maybe 6 paragraphs written on ONE. *sigh* The one that I've already decided to merge two fanfic challenges into one piece, since Anywhere but Cardiff via time_and_chips is slightly more open to interpretation.I'm already wicked late on it - better to combine it with this new project for time_x_space because hell, it can work. And then I have two projects done.

Then I need to figure out my courage for Nine/Jack smut for dwliterotica. I got a great prompt and should have some fun with it (it may require me to get a tad inebriated to loosen up to write, though). But this other project is just overwhelming me. I need to get it off my plate and over to a beta.

Hoped I'd get some writing done this weekend, but the toilet repair fiasco kinda threw that out the window. Between Tau Beta Sigma events and trying to recreate a functional bathroom in our house, it was... an interesting weekend.

I'm too much of a perfectionist. I really am. But I need challenges with deadlines to force myself to write. And I figured that post-wedding, I'd be fine. I'd be ready to do things. Rah-rah-rah! Free time to let my brain dump into words. Unfortunately, my brain is not agreeing with me. It wants to sleep.

I need some serious ass-kickage to get me in gear. Or inspiration. Please inspire me?

Mew?

*ahem*

Tessie is the Royal Rooters rally cry
Tessie is the tune they always sung
Tessie echoed April through October nights
After serenading Stahl, Dinneen and Young
Tessie is a maiden with a sparkling eye
Tessie is a maiden with a love
She doesn't know the meaning of her sight
She's got a comment full of love
And sometimes when the game is on the line
Tessie always carried them away
Up the road from "Third Base" to Huntington
The boys will always sing and sway

Two! Three! Four!

Tessie, "Nuf Ced" McGreevey shouted
We're not here to mess around
Boston, you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Tessie, you are the only only only

The Rooters showed up at the grounds one day
They found their seats had all been sold
McGreevey led the charge into the park
Stormed the gates and put the game on hold
The Rooters gave the other team a dreadful fright
Boston's tenth man could not be wrong
Up from "Third Base" to Huntington
They'd sing another victory song

Two! Three! Four!

Tessie, "Nuf Ced" McGreevey shouted
We're not here to mess around
Boston, you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Tessie, you are the only only only

The Rooters gave the other team a dreadful fright
Boston's tenth man could not be wrong
Up from "Third Base" to Huntington
They'd sing another victory song

Two! Three! Four!

Tessie, "Nuf Ced" McGreevey shouted
We're not here to mess around
Boston, you know we love you madly
Hear the crowd roar to your sound
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Tessie, you are the only only only
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Boston, you are the only only only
Don't blame us if we ever doubt you
You know we couldn't live without you
Red Sox, you are the only only only...

Home

7:45 p.m., Sunday, October 21, 2007

I get into my Jeep following the Tau Beta Sigma rush tea to head home. I drive a couple blocks down Beacon Street, and make the U-turn to head back toward Kenmore Square.

As I get closer, the police cruisers, the barricades, and the officers come into view. And then the throngs of people come into view.

And then I hit the bridge - and to my right, the huge floodlights of Fenway Park illuminate my car. My shuffled songs on my iPod reaches Dirty Water, and I crank it as I drive through Kenmore Square, watching the block party that is the area around Kenmore and the Park.

Dammit, Boston is my home, and there's nothing quite like driving through my home turf a half-hour before the first pitch of Game 7 of the ALCS.


50 minutes later, and I'm on my couch, watching the game.

And life. is. good.

Rule #1 about owning a house

That quick "replace the fittings inside the toilet tank so the toilet stops running" afternoon project?

Will never, EVER be just an afternoon project.

Guess what it wound up being? A whole new toilet.

Because the running? Was a slow leak. Which had resulted in FARKING BLACK MOLD growing under our toilet, up the back of the tank, and on the wall. And considering the toilet's at least 60 years old anyway and the bolts wouldn't come undone from the tank without bolt cutters?

We'll solve a couple problems. I'd much rather have a new toilet than just "clean up" black mold. With our allergies? Yeah... remove the source, thanks.

Go to Lowes, get a new toilet - new Kohler with all of the fittings and such in the box for $200. Perfect.

Get home, eat dinner, and then I go upstairs with the bleach and a scrubber to clean that entire area of the bathroom thoroughly to kill any trace of the mold (and just give it a good scrubbing).

So six hours later, Erich's installing the new toilet. And our water connector isn't long enough. So we can't finish installing it.

And it's now 10:30 at night, so the stores are closed.

Mind you - this is our only toilet in the house.


Yay.


*sigh*

Guess tomorrow morning's first events are coffee at a Dunkins with a bathroom and then another trip to Lowes...

Thursday Thirteen #29: Busy Day Off

Erich and I took today off to do various errands and appointments - and we got everything accomplished and still had some time to have fun. Since I honestly have nothing exciting to talk about, that's the topic for today's T13. :)



Thirteen Things I Got Accomplished on Wednesday



1. Met with our lawyer to draft our first married wills.

2. Bought copies of our marriage certificates at City Hall.

3. Legally changed my name at the Social Security office. I now have two middle names... whee!

4. Got the furnace inspected, oil filter changed, and all set to go for this winter.

5. Cleared 7 quests in World of Warcraft.

6. Did three loads of laundry.

7. Bought 3 pumpkins for Halloween Jack o'Lantern carving.

8. Found three farms with plants, veggies, and pies in South County.

9. Bought some of the aforementioned veggies and pies.

10. Explored Ocean Road in Narrangansett.

11. Ate dinner at a clam shack in Galilee, RI that's been in business since the 1930s. (mmmm... steamers)

12. Discovered where the Block Island Ferry leaves from (Galilee... next door to the clam shack).

13. Had a very nice, relaxing shower to finish my day.




Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)


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The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Heading back to the Faire

Mel and Erich (in newly purchased garb)
Originally uploaded by measi.

It was a lower-key trip to King Richard's Faire this week. More people - Matt, Maria, Tricia, and Kevin joined Erich and me. The weather was beautiful. We had a great time - and seemed to spend a heck of a lot more time eating and drinking this time around.

Tricia and Kevin bought themselves full new outfits, so they are now officially well-garbed for the Faire and Halloween festivities. Erich bought a leather poncho (it's beautiful!!!) that signifies the beginning of his new full Druid idea for the Faire.

I told him that the poncho made him look like a Moonkin from World of Warcraft. (and yes, I did the obligatory Owlbeast waddling run with my elbows slightly pointed out as I called him an Oomkin... fellow WoW players know exactly what I'm talking about... hee!)

But yes - the new garb I bought last weekend was quite comfortable. I kept getting asked by people around the Faire for shopkeep help... apparently I'm now dressed well enough that people think I work at KRF. *snicker*

The rest of the pictures from the two weekends are on my Flickr account (just click on the photo). A lot came out annoyingly dark, though... I need to figure out why I'm so crappy with my camera.

Thursday Thirteen #28: Invading Britain

Since I’m now officially a year away from the Great British Expedition of '08, I’m doing this week’s Thursday Thirteen on things I’d really like to do while I’m across the pond. I know we can’t do them all due to the distance between places. But that’s why there are additional trips in the future, right? :)

1) See Hamlet and Loves Labour Lost at the Royal Shakespeare Company. This is checked off the list. Tickets are bought and have arrived at our house, all shiny and glowing. :)

2) Go to Cardiff and take the obligatory geek shots in front of the water tower, the Millennium Centre overhang, the Torchwood door on the dock, and wherever else my geeky heart needs to do for Doctor Who and Torchwood-itis.

3) Ride the Tube. I have a weird fascination with subways and how I just sink into the crowd and into the population when I’m on a train. It’s stupid, I know – but it gives my heart a fun little flutter.

4) Do the Tower of London tour. I know… tourist-ey to hell, but SOME things just need to be done.

5) Go tour a castle outside of London. We’ll probably go to Warwick Castle, since we’ll be in Stratford-upon-Avon anyway.

6) Have a pint at a pub… and some proper British chips, too.

7) Take Erich up to Crouch End so he can do his fanboy enjoyment of Shaun of the Dead. (Shh... I promise not to be doing any Tennant scoping while we're here. Promise. Well... okay, a little).

8) Go up to Scotland – I’d love to do a tour of the hidden city in Edinburgh if it exists (the underground city that survived for decades). But honestly, I’ll just happily take going to Scotland, getting rained on… because it’s Scotland… and taking in some of the scenery.

9) Go around the Magical Roundabout.

10) Lose myself in something I would have never thought about before getting to Britain.

11) Meet one of the many Brits I’ve been in contact with via penpalling or the internet over the years. That may be for the obligatory pint in #6.

12) Meet the McNulty family that became so close to my grandfather during WWII when he was stationed there. My dad’s side of the family has essentially become extended family. This requires said trip to Scotland (and as such may be for another trip).

13) Take so many pictures and develop so many memories I’ll wear out both my camera and fill a journal of adventures!

Via Thursday Thirteen.


So... any Brits or those who have visited Great Britain - what would you recommend I do? Have any advice?

Shopping at the Faire

With the wedding insanity now over, the first true event to mark that our lives are returning to normal was our trip to King Richard's Faire on Sunday. We went along with Maria and Matt, meeting up with Gina and Gabe, who are two of Erich's college friends, at the faire.

Before the faire, I was dreading the weather report - it said it would be in the upper 70s and sunny. Great normal weather to go anywhere, but when you're decked out in layers of Renaissance period garb? Eh, not so much.

It turned out to be a comfortable overcast day in the mid-60s, although Erich was a little chilly in his modern punk variant of his formal kilt in a t-shirt. :( (he looked fabulous though).

After last year's trip to the faire, I was fully prepared to be seeking out a new bodice for my outfit. The one I've had for eight years is too small for me, and the boning that lines the row of grommits is beginning to poke through the top - so I just can't wear it anymore. I absolutely adore it, too - it's a rust and forest green tartan, with a red reversable lining (that I've never worn on top). Not easy to replace, but I decided that I'd got to my trustworthy Threads of Time, and finally get the bodice that matches what I have. Their prices are fantastic, and the clothes are wonderful and easy to wear. I'm good to go with ideas in hand.

That was before I realized that my overdress from Threads of Time had shrunk last time I washed it, too - and now was sitting a few inches too short in the back. Then again, it also is eight years old.

*sigh*

So now I'm thinking okay- new outfit. I can do this. I'll work around it. I have a new underskirt in basic black that I bought at Threads last year. I just need a new overskirt, and the new bodice, and I'll be set. And because this is the faire, being plus-sized isn't quite as much of a detriment as it can be in other places. Being busty and curvy is a good thing at the faire. :)

So we go to the faire. And we're looking around at the shops. Most of the same folks I recognize from last year, but a few new places. Beautiful things as always... most of which I can't afford.

We head into Moresca, which is the shop that has oodles that I covet, but never can justify purchasing from. And everything always looks too small, so I haven't bothered. Eh, moo.

And then my eyes fall on a particular bodice - deep blues with black accents in rich brocades. (sample of the style here). It's an XL, but the shopkeep assures me that my normal 2X sizing on top will translate to this XL (which does look like it will fit me just fine - but I don't want to deal with the 30 minutes of re-lacing my current bodice post fitting if I can help it). This bodice has lacings on both sides AND the back, so it's quite flexible with sizing.

Have I mentioned how gorgeous this bodice is? Erich loves it too. But it's a Moresca bodice, which means it's about twice what I was planning on paying. I need to sit and think on it over lunch, even though I'm coveting it dearly.

Erich points out over lunch that we do have wedding money, and that I can indulge if I want to. It doesn't take much to twist my arm at all.

Right after lunch, we head right back and I buy it. :)

We collect a couple other things along the way during the day - a new leather belt for me and a

Then I need new skirts to match the color scheme. I find lovely ones in the same deep blue and a pretty moss green (for a brighter top offset) in rough silk at Threads of Time that are just wonderful to the touch. I buy both of those. Nice offset texture, nice soothing colors that I prefer to wear.

And best of all? My outfit's ready for this upcoming weekend's return trip to the Faire.

Rock. :)

(and yes, there will be pics)

Stupid clothing rant

After work tonight, I convinced Erich to head over to the Warwick Mall so I could go to Lane Bryant to grab a new pair of jeans. He agreed quickly because he needed to stop by LensCrafters anyway... and off we went.

So I go in to Lane Bryant, and immediately notice that they have some new trendy "fit yourself to the perfect jean" thing on the wall. Three cuts, based on your waist to hip size. Okay, fine. And here's where it gets annoying - because all of the sizes are now untraditional. So you HAVE to have a salesperson help you to find your size because they have to measure your waist in a similar vein to measuring bras.

*groan*

okay. Fine.

So she gets my size - blue 5. Fine. Whatever. She grabs that and the next size down, a blue 4, and we head to the dressing room.

And I try on the blue 5s. They fit pretty snuggly. They're that effing elasticized denim. And they feel, eh... okay, I guess. But a lot tighter than I prefer to wear jeans. And a bit itchy because they're those elasticized ones and haven't been washed yet.

I'm not thrilled.

And so I go out of the dressing room. She tells me that she thinks they're too big (?!?), and that I should try on the four.

I really disagree with this concept - because I already feel these are too tight. But I humor her. I can't even BUTTON the other ones. I don't even bother to try the universal "OMG get these jeans on" pull. Because if I do manage to get them buttoned, I'm going to have a seriously unflattering camel toe syndrome going on in these things. And that? Ew.

Fuck that. I already think these "5s" fit snuggly.

So I get dressed in my workclothes and come out. Shake my head about the fours and flat out state that I couldn't button them, and that I'm mixed on the fives and want to go bigger. She claims they're going to stretch out - that everyone has brought the jeans back because they stretch out too wide.

And I say, "well, that's good. Because I don't think I'm liking this narrow cut."

Mind you - there's no more relaxed fit jean left in the store- the cut I've been wearing happily and religiously for years. Nice and roomy, comfy, easy to lounge in. And regular denim. All of the jeans are now this elasticized stuff. All based on waist to hip size. Am I the only plus sized woman out there that isn't digging this elasticized denim thing? I mean - it hugs to every flaw in your body. And at a size 26, I have quite a few flaws here. It makes me feel like I'm wearing leggings... which at my size should be banned from anything other than the gym and slacking around the house because they're just awful.

I don't want bootcut. I don't want flare. I just want a basic pair of comfy jeans. Straight leg, roomy fit in the thigh so I can sit down comfortably without my underwear showing in the back.

Is this too much to ask?

And I honestly needed to buy a pair of jeans so I'll have some for tomorrow evening. (and the rare wear-jeans-to-work day tomorrow).

The salesclerk - and the manager - stated that if I didn't like them, I can bring them back post wearing.

*sigh* I caved in and bought a pair - a lighter pair, thank you (because apparently that uber-dark indigo is back in style again... but I refuse to wear Wrangler cowboy new jeans color on a matter of principle). I'm not happy with the purchase, though. I'm going to be making sure to save all tags and receipts - because I do expect these to be heading back early next week.

Had they not have been closed, I probably would have swung by the Avenue to see if they had any normal jeans. They do on their website. But I've been hit-or-miss with their cuts in their store.

Grrrr....

Can't we slightly more conservative early 30's gals just have some decent clothes that are between uber-tight teenager crap and the mumu lazy older woman housedrss stuff?

Please?

Grrr...

Some idiot tried to jump on the train in Providence this morning as the 7:10 train was leaving the station. He got dragged down the platform before the train finally stopped. Farking idiot.

When Erich dropped me off at 7:30, they were just wheeling the guy out - he was sitting up, conscious, holding his arm out straight to support it, and there was a LOT of blood on the removed shoe sitting in his lap.

As always, the MBTA is the bastion of no communication - failing to make any announcement about the situation of the now delayed 7:40 train (which wasn't marked as delayed until AFTER 7:40... I know, because I was physically running down the stairs to the platform at 7:38, when it claimed it was "on time") to find everyone for my train standing on the track, looking confused.

It took 75% of the people waiting for my train to head upstairs, going to the window to ASK for an announcement for them to do anything, and to announce that people not board the train that rolled into the station roughly at 7:45 on the opposite side of the station because that was the 8:10 scheduled train, and that ours would be coming and leaving before that train left Providence.

Seriously - what the hell does it take for communication with the train company? Just TELL YOUR RIDERS THAT THERE'S A DELAY, and confirm the track number. That's all. Simple, to the point. They should not have to go ask for such basic information. Not in a station that is not that busy.

As it was, our train then finally rolled into the station around 7:55 or so (from the yard - it makes no sense that it couldn't have been brought over a bit earlier and just sat at Providence).

And I got in a half-hour late.

Grrrrr...

When Geeks Get Married: Wedding Recap, Pt. 2

The Kiss!!
Originally uploaded by measi.

The drive down to Bristol was prettier than I remembered it being. Granted, it was an absolutely amazing day - crystal clear sky, no humidity, everything bright and cheerful and just out of a postcard. We arrived at the farm just after 5 - not long after the groomsmen did. As I saw kilts moving across the opposite end of the field, I quickly scooted over to the cocktail hour cabin to hide from Erich (given that I was a bit obvious wearing white and all). We gushed over the beautiful bouquets my florist had created (all I'd given her were the colors I'd prefer - I was amazed... but more on that in a little while). We stood on the deck and admired the view, took a few pictures, and just relaxed until it was time.

Through all of this, I was feeling very calm. Oddly calm. As in "I'm here to witness someone else getting married" calm.

But then we lined up to make the walk up the aisle. And then the music started - Storybook Love from The Princess Bride, and we started walking - my dad on one side of me, and my mom on the other. And my brain just shut down. I barely remember seeing people along the aisle. My knees were shaking, and my anxiety was blown full open, and all I could do to keep moving was stare at Erich (who was beaming back at me). I know I gave my dad a kiss, and then everything began.

And it was a swirl of words. Our friend Tony had hand-written the entire ceremony we'd emailed him the week before into a beautiful little journal (which he presented to us later). All I could do was smile at Erich. I'm very thankful that I knew I'd never remember my vows if I'd decided to memorize them. As it was, I started repeating them early because of my nerves (getting a chuckle out of everyone). That, oddly enough, was what finally calmed me down.

But for those curious, here's our little wedding ceremony, in its entirety:

Tony: Welcome. We are gathered here today on this beautiful fall evening to witness the joining of Melissa and Erich in marriage. Melissa and Erich, have you both come here willingly?

Us: (together) Yes.

Tony: Today is a celebration not of a beginning, but of a bond that already exists between you. In many ways, your lives are already joined. Today you declare your intention to make this joining deliberate and permanent.

Tony: (to the guests) Melissa and Erich desire to be united in marriage surrounded by you, their friends and family. All of y9ou are here because you have played some part in bringing Melissa and Erich to this moment. Let us all remember those who cannot be here today, but who are with us in spirit always: Melissa's grandmother Mary, Erich's grandmother Miriam, Erich's grandfather Norman, and especially Erich's mother Deborah.

Tony: Melissa and Erich have chosen as a couple to perform a box, wine and love letter ceremony. This box contains a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a love letter from each to the other The letters describe the good qualities they find in one another, the reasons they fell in love, and their reasons for choosing to marry. The letters are sealed in individual envelopes, and they have not seen what the other has written.

Tony: (to us) Should you ever find your marriage enduring serious hardships, you are to, as a couple, open this box, sit and drink wine together, then separate and read the letters you wrote to one another when you were united as a couple. By reading these love letters, you will reflect upon the reasons you fell in love and chose to marry each other here today. The hope is, however, that you will never have a reason to open this box. And if this is the case, you are to open this box to share and enjoy on your ten year anniversary! Melissa and Erich, please seal the box.

Tony: (to me) Melissa, please repeat after me.
I, Melissa, take you Erich, to be my husband - my best friend, my partner in life, and my one true love. I give to you, in the presence of these witnesses, my pledge to stay by your side as your wife in sickness and health, in joy and sorrow, as well as through the good time and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, encourage you to achieve all of your goals, laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you forever.

Tony: (to Erich) Erich, please repeat after me.
I, Erich, take you Melissa, to be my wife - my best friend, my partner in life, and my one true love. I give to you, in the presence of these witnesses, my pledge to stay by your side as your husband in sickness and health, in joy and sorrow, as well as through the good time and the bad. I promise to love you without reservation, comfort you in times of distress, encourage you to achieve all of your goals, laugh with you and cry with you, grow with you in mind and spirit, always be open and honest with you, and cherish you forever.

Tony: (to Elizabeth, our ringbearer) May I have the rings?
(to us) Melissa and Erich, I invite you now to exchange your rings as a symbol of the vows you've just spoken.

Erich: (to me) Take this ring as a symbol of my love, as this ring has no beginning and no end, as is my love for you.

Me: (to Erich) Take this ring as a symbol of my love, as this ring has no beginning and no end, as is my love for you.

Tony: And now, by the power vested in me by the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, I now pronounce you Man and Wife. And in the immortal words of Mel Brooks, "Good! You're married! Kiss her!"

(we kiss)

Tony: And I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Erich and Melissa Krueger!


We bounced away down the aisle to the Monkee's I'm a Believer (because really... it practically was written for the two of us, recent Shrek usage aside). And as we got halfway across the lawn, I finally exclaimed "Holy shit we're married!" Much to the amusement of those who were in earshot, of course. I specifically remember Michelle cracking up.

Now, here I'll stop for a moment and gush about my bouquet - because it was absolutely perfect. Everything was in deep reds - a center Calla lily, with four of those beautiful deep red (with almost a purplish edge) roses, a blend of seasonal mums, all surrounded by reddish-purple (!) hydrangeas. No filler in any of the bouquets - all were full of flowers! Melinda hung mine up to dry afterwards, and it will take a carefully guarded place behind glass here in my office as shelf decor where the cats can't get to it. :)

Everyone went off to the cocktail hour, while Erich and I were off for formal photo shoots with our bridal party and parents. There's one particular shot that I'm looking forward to seeing from our photographer - the Scots on a Rock shot (with all of the kilted men in a row on the rock). We have lots of shoes pictures and hopefully a good chunk of silly pictures as well. I was laughing for the better part of the rest of the night. :)

The two of us opened the clambake at 7 by ringing a big dinner bell hung on the side of the tent, and our amazing caterer had everyone gather round the big cooking pit to describe how everything was done - over rocks and seaweed and steaming. And then we were introduced, went into our first dance (which revealed to everyone how Erich and I just do not dance) to In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel, and then we sat down for two beautiful toasts by Tone (best man) and Melinda (maid of honor). After that - the feast of clams, mussels, lobster, johnnycake bread, smoked codfish, sausages, corn on the cob, and potatoes commenced.

Oh yes, we feasted. And it was all good.

The dance floor opened, and as expected, there was no need to encourage this crowd to get up and dance. We received a bunch of compliments all evening regarding our DJ, who played a fantastic mix of classic standards and more modern dance songs to keep everybody moving. The floor was jumping all night. :) I danced a bit toward the end of the evening, but for most of the night both Erich and I were flitting around talking to people (as. IMHO, all good bridal couples should do at their receptions). Between the two of us, I don't think we missed anybody - but I'll be dropping everyone a note in the mail over the next few weeks anyway just to make sure.

Dad and I then danced to the song he selected - which is one of my lifelong favorites... What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. My dad, ever being my dad, was singing and being a bit goofy as we danced. It was perfect and very us. :)

Our cake was soooo delicious. We picked a vanilla cake with strawberry and whipped cream filler layers, all covered with buttercream frosting. Oh, god it was delicious. We did our cake cutting to Love and Marriage by Frank Sinatra (famous for being the theme song for Married with Children... as soon as it was recognized, we got a LOT of laughs). We were both well-behaved. No cake smooshing here!

After that, it was lots of dancing until around 10:30, when everything had to wrap up. The final dance of the night was, as tradition for me since high school, The Dance by Garth Brooks. I've had a few people ask why I picked a song about breakups (both in person and livejournal), so I feel the need to explain this one a bit. First - it was always the last dance of the night for every formal dance in high school (of which there were many... because we had nothing else to do). And also, it's never been a song about breakups to me - it's been a song about accepting the hardships in your past and embracing them as lessons that carry you into the unknown - and hopefully brighter - future - very fitting for Erich and I, considering our lives during this past year. The entire song is summed up to me in these lines - "Our lives are better left to chance. I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance."

Your viewpoint may vary, of course... but yeah, that's my take on it. And it's just a pretty song.

As the music died down, the group of Tau Beta Sigma sisters still in attendance carried on the Boston University pep band tradition, starting up a rousing round of "Hey Baby" to end the night. My dad was highly amused (having watched the BU band in action a few tims), and many of the other relatives looked on impressed. And then all of the Sisters gathered together, and we sang the TBS National Hymn (with harmony, even!) It's the first time I can recall ever singing it outside of a sisters-only event. Absolutely tickled me. I hope it becomes a tradition at all future Sister weddings. Really, truly. Needs. to. happen.

And then we all said goodbye - hugging everyone as they went off to their cars or back to the vans. Erich and I got into the Bentley and were whisked away to our hotel for the night...

where we collasped in bed, reading our guestbook pages and absently watching Crocodile Dundee on the midnight movie for about an hour before passing out.

It was an absolutely amazing day. Neither of us could have asked for better - we know that Erich's mom was looking out for us by giving us the beautiful weather. And we're still bopping around the house in amazement that we pulled this wedding together!

Thus ends the recap... but for all of the photos added to the photoshare to date, pop over here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/melanderich/

:)

Yay!

When Geeks Get Married: Wedding Recap, pt. 1

Mel and Erich
Originally uploaded by measi.

Four days later, I’m still swirling through everything that happened this weekend and just keep looking at it in awe. Seriously – I cannot believe everything went so well. Nor can Erich, for that matter. After months and months of planning, frustration, and unexpected hardships – the entire weekend went without a hitch. Well, except for the hitching that was meant to happen. That hitching went as intended!

So sit back with a cuppa – because it was a long, busy weekend full of fun and insanity. Lots to tell.

If I were to give one piece of advice to an upcoming bride who is planning her wedding on her own, I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to choose bridesmaids that can help you with delegated planning and provide you emotional support as needed through everything. I would never have gotten through it all if I hadn’t had Melinda, Ivanna, and Maria by my side. Whether finding resources for vendors (photos and hair especially) or just providing emotional calming or hugs , all three were incredibly helpful.

The weekend festivities kicked off on Friday with a girls’ day out and my bachelorette party. Morning full-body massages, followed by lunch at the pub, followed by manicures and pedicures. I desperately needed that massage – it turned out that Ivanna found a holistic massage place only about a mile from my house! (yay… somewhere to go back to!) Quite heavenly. I was very worried about having my nails done – being the tomboy geek that I am, I’d never had my nails professionally done in my life. No idea what to expect. The result is very pretty. It looks very strange to me to have fingernails, as I am a chronic biter. I’m still wearing them, although I find it fairly difficult to do things and really do miss having sensation in my fingertips when I touch things. I think the lack of touch sensation is probably the most disconcerting. But at least for big events, I know I can do this. And Erich really likes them - so for now, I'll deal. :)

The bachelorette party was a very wild evening at the house. There were nine of us present, and the evening was full of fun but very silly games like “pin the penis on the man” (John and Rodney nicknamed the guy on the poster “sad boy” and gave him some chest hair with a sharpie). We had a penis piñata, a yummy cake from Sweet and Nasty cake shop in Boston, and after everything else – a crazy round of karaoke on my wall on the X-Box. One of the funnier events (that I’m comfortable sharing photos of, anyway) was Fizzy grabbing one of the penis whistles from the piñata horde and whapping it around the dining room. She managed to pick it up in her paws and lick it – sending the entire party to the floor laughing.

Saturday was the Unrehearsal Dinner in my backyard. We had 40 people over – family, friends, and the wedding party. It was the first time all of my relatives had seen my house – and so many people loved it. I was thrilled! We had tons of good food for everyone – lots of family favorites from both families were blended. So we had ribs and potato salad and chili mixed with pierogi and galumpkies, plus desserts and the obligatory shots of celebratory vodka. A good time was had by all with chatting well into the evening.


And then Sunday arrived with a brilliant blue sky.

I spent the first hour of my wedding day sprawled out on my bed, staring out the window at the trees, not really thinking about anything in particular - but making sure that I didn't allow myself to fall into the "omgimgettingmarriedtoday" freaking out that easily could have taken place. I was oddly calm. It felt like just another day.

By 11 a.m., the girls and I were on our way to Providence Place, where I popped over to the Laura Mercier counter at Nordstrom. Maria popped over to the MAC counter, and both of us got our faces put on. :) By noon, we were on our way over to my mom's hotel where we all got our hair done by my wonderful new hairstylist, Lynda. My photographer, Michelle, arrived at two and was just everywhere, taking fun pictures and laughing over the scrapboook that the girls had already put together of the Friday festivities.

3:30 p.m. came, and it was time for me to start getting ready. With my mom watching, Melinda helped me get into my dress in about 15 minutes. Back to the secondary room for some quick final touches on the hair, add a veil and tiara, plus a bit more lipstick, and I was ready to go.

I walked down the hall to find most of my family standing in the lobby, waiting to board the limo and shuttle bus we'd rented (dark windy roads + unfamiliar drivers + open bar at wedding is not a good mix).

And that's when the nerves hit. All of a sudden, reality just slammed me and I got all fluttery. Everyone boarded the transportation. Mom, Dad, and I got into the '57 Bentley, and off we went toward Mount Hope Farm.

Part 2 coming soon... just typing it now!

Stitching Rotation #1

While I wait anxiously for friends to start uploading wedding photos (because I have none of my own... ack!), I've started getting my stitching stuff organized and sorted so I can get back to my hobby. I really have been missing it a lot over the last few months.

It's been so long since I did a stitching rotation that I'm just starting over with my numbering. Here's my current plan...

Rotation #1
8 slot rotation. Work 10 hours on each project, then move on.

Two slots in rotation for focus piece. Two slots in rotation for Teresa Wentzler pieces, since I love so many of them. One slot in rotation for backstitching, since I always have a ton to do.

Goals:
- Push 's sampler forward
- One fresh start (wedding planning reward)
- One small piece finish

Rotation Slots:
1) FOCUS: Apache Wedding Blessing
2) TW #1: Floral Bellpull
3) CAT: Home is Where the Cat Is
4) FOCUS: Apache Wedding Blessing
5) NEW: Astrology Sampler
6) TW #2: Egyptian Sampler
7) BACKSTITCHING: Apache Wedding Blessing
8) SMALL: Spirit Dragon

Hope this works...

We have success!

Holy crap I'm married! :)

More details will come later... BUT... it went beautifully. Amazing weather, fabulous food, fantastic guests - it was an amazing evening.

I'm farking EXHAUSTED. So the longer recap will come probably Wednesday or so. Our last guests are leaving tomorrow, and Erich will be filling the house with the sounds of Halo 3 (he's out buying it now)... so I need some recoup time first.

But yeah... so weird. :)


Oh, and for my friends/familly who read my blog and who came? I've set up a Flickr group for photosharing... Please friend http://www.flickr.com/groups/melanderich/ and send your photos.. 'cause I'd love to make a real blog announcement 'n stuff.

heading to bed now...

- the old married lady

This sums up the bachelorette

This sums up the bachelorette
Originally uploaded by measi.

Even my female cats had a blast with the penis whistles at the bachelorette party last night.

Had a blast. Slightly hung over. Will sum up Tuesday.


OMG... 24 hours!

Hamlet and Loves Labor Lost

Oh. Yes.

Ordered.

10/14 for Hamlet
10/15 for LLL


And if I'm reading my seating chart of the Courtyard Theatre correctly - holy SHIT we have great seats for both.


I'M GOING TO ENGLAND NEXT AUTUMN!!!!!!!!

I'M GOING TO SEE DAVID TENNANT in BOTH PRODUCTIONS!!!

AND PATRICK STEWART IN HAMLET!!!


AHHHHH.... GEEK EXPLOSION!!!!!

(pop)

*shying away from calendar*

So…

Ten days out now.

My mom will be here in less than a week.

Things are moving along quite well, actually. It’s been weird to see things falling into place after months of frustration, freaking out, and stress. Barring any last minute complete panic issues, I think we’re in relatively good shape.

I've made my final order to the caterer. Dropped my dress off at David's to be pressed/steamed and made sure to make the pick-up appointment for when 's dress is ready next Wednesday. Contacted the local Maids office for Rhode Island to see about having them come out to do a final cleaning of our house. Erich contacted the guys who came out to prune trees earlier this year regarding yard cleanup. And we've just been doing some bits and bobs that need to be done.

Things that have kind of fallen by the wayside:
- a garter. I'm not tossing one, so really I don't need one. David's doesn't carry plus-sized ones. If I find one at Michael's or JoAnns, great. Otherwise, eh.
- a memory box/letter box for cards. It's my mom's new fixation point that she keeps asking about. So... fine. When she's up next week, we'll go get one at Michaels or JoAnns.

I'm still waiting on my dad to get back to me with our father-daughter song (I'll be calling him tonight if I don't hear from him). Erich and I need to get in touch with our friend who's marrying us so we can review what we're doing. Our actual vows ARE written, but the ceremony isn't quite hashed out. Not that it's going to be long, of course. But we definitely will need to discuss it with the rest of the wedding party, too.

And we need to get the rest of the upstairs cleaned up - get rid of the stuff in boxes and put my bookshelves back together. I need Erich's help on this solely because I have absolutely no spacial relations ability at all, and he seems to get bookshelves whipped into shape very quickly.

But yeah... almost there.

*crosses fingers*

My biggest worry at this point is just fatigue. It’s not really the insanity of getting things done, but how I’ll hold up over days of celebrations:

Thursday, all day – “The Old Lady Day” (coined by my mom, not me). Spending time with Mom & my adopted aunts, doing the lingerie shopping, hopefully having some good, strong drinks.

Friday, all day – “The Girly Day” Spending the day with my bridesmaids doing spa stuff and getting spoiled, followed by my bachelorette party in the evening.

Saturday – Unrehearsal BBQ dinner at the house, 4 p.m. “until”

Sunday – The wedding

I’m very glad we’re taking the full week off afterward. I imagine it’ll be Thursday the 27th before I feel like myself again.

The weekend, and the future

14 days. Eep!

The bachelor party was easily survived. I, as planned, spent most of my evening on the couch. I did not, as planned, get anything else done. My brain needed a complete break from all things wedding last night, and so that's what I did. I just shut off the phone, took a break, and had a very needed evening to myself.

The unedited Graham Norton episode had me laughing so hard that I went into a coughing fit (and had to stop watching it for a while). Funny stuff. Sometime around 11:30 or so, I threw in my Blackpool DVD and settled down, fell asleep somewhere into episode 1, and woke up when the guys came home - right as the scene in Funny Girls starts. :)

Erich and the guys returned just a bit after 2 a.m., and amazingly, the party broke up immediately- apparently the guys were just exhausted on the bus on the way back from Foxwoods (and most had sobered up by that time). I guess this is the sign of a bachelor party when the guys are mostly in their 30s! Most of the guys went home. I ended up with only Matt, Jason, and Erich's Dad crashing out at our house.

Got up this morning, had coffee and breakfast, and then just relaxed for a while. Some of the guys came back over to watch the Pats game, play board games, and just hang out and plan out characters for Erich's new d20 game he'll be kicking off at some point.

The last folks left around 7:30. Erich and I have just been relaxing since then - I have some laundry going, but otherwise, we're chilling out. We got a LOT of housework done. Other than the kitchen, the entire downstairs is put together and ready for family to see it. The upstairs just needs some work done in my office, and then we'll be good to go.

One very productive thing for today? We bought our full membership to the Royal Shakespeare Company. So as soon as tickets go on sale online for Hamlet? Oh yes, we shall purchase. :)

wedding hair

wedding hair
Originally uploaded by measi.

One pin got loose on my drive home (which is why there's that weird big loop on the left), but here's the trial hair run photo. :)

Basically, it's two low ponytails with all of my hair sprayed and placed into pin curls.

I also had a cut (3 inches!!) and recolor (highlights and lowlights) to balance everything out.

More photos coming soon - my camera died, so my stylist took some photos on her camera, and will be emailing them later tonight...

Reality

Last night, I drove back to Boston after a weekend of couch-lounging, storage box sorting, and general slackerdom.

I dropped her off, and then headed back to Cleveland Circle in Brookline to grab a dinner burrito at Boloco. (because I don't eat there enough during my workweek already). Munched it down, gave Erich a call on my cell, checked my messages (one from from Friday... *sigh* no, I'm horrid with my cell phone), texted her back, cranked my "dance mix" on my iPod, and started to head home.

By taking a right back onto Chestnut Hill Ave, and then a right onto Comm Ave.

No idea why - but that just felt like the right way. Okay. I recognize those weird little "don't know why..." thoughts, and entertained them.

Windows down, music thumping, I drove my way down Comm Ave - swinging by the old apartment on Egremont. Then I continued back down Comm Ave., passing by Hamilton House Hell - now private apartments instead of a BU dorm. Through campus- where life was VERY active with the students who had just returned this weekend. Then by Warren Towers, where I spent two odd dorm years. Through Kenmore Square, which looks nothing like it did when I was a student. Down through the back swing of the Fenway, to St. Botolph Street, to the dead end street, and I stopped...

Got out of the car, and looked up at The Beast for just a bit.

The lights weren't on, but there are colorful drapes in the windows. And there was a cat, resembling how Colley would sprawl, enjoying the beautiful evening weather in the kitchenette window.

And that's where I lost it. Really, honest to god lost it. I sat on the wall where I'd brought Colley so many times to explore outside, and released them.

Holy crap, I'm getting married. Three weeks from today, I will be married, starting a new life (which isn't much different than my current life, yet I know it'll be entirely different). The crying, the depression, the loneliness, the thoughts of ending everything in that one room apartment - all in the past. So far in the past, so foreign.

If you'd asked me seven, eight, nine years ago that I'd have sat there last night, staring up at that three-windowed apartment with a little fear, a little melancholy, a little pride, and then a really fucking huge smile, I'd have laughed insanely at you and told you off. I was the one who would never find someone. I was doomed to be a miserable nerd loner for the rest of my life.

It's a bit overwhelming, honestly.

O. M. F. G.

I am getting married exactly one month from today.


(wherethehelldidthistwoyearsandninemonthengagementgo?!?)


*squeeks*



*panics*



*hides under comforter*

Of Stitching and Sorority

I'm back at work today. Still coughing, although my lungs seem to be settling down off the morning hard stuff, and I should be okay until late this evening when fatigue will kick them off again. Bleh. But we have a box of Lemon Zinger tea at work, and it will be my friend for the day so I don't try to drink carbonated soda.

It was an odd weekend. Odd because while still being sick, I was perfectly well enough to have people over. And so I did. Masquedbunny, Whishastar and Myownwench came down on Saturday noonish for the day. My somewhat-but-not-really local cross stitch store, With Heart and Soul, was getting out of the stitching business with a massive 50% off sale of EVERYTHING in stock, and since the three of them also craft, it was the perfect opportunity to go grab stuff.

And I did - all of those patterns I've been eyeballing for years, I bought. Don't know if I'll get to them, but hell - they're all 50% off, so I got almost all of the patterns for about $2-5 each. Can't beat that. AND a good chunk of them were the out of print Teresa Wentzler patterns that are impossible to find (the seasonal fairies and the fruit quartet, fellow stitchers?). With Erich's kind help via credit card, I dropped what WOULD have been $260, whacked down to $130.

Boo. Ya.

Anyway, I can't blame the shop owners one bit. Apparently the town of Cumberland has a yearly inventory tax - so basically any of these patterns that sit on the shelves get taxed EVERY YEAR. So much that the owner point blank said - at this point, I can't make back any of the money on them. We're just recouping whatever we can for the least loss possible. So yeah, I can't blame them at all. Shame they're closing. Wish they'd had some more practical hours, though... 10-5 weekdays and 10-6 on Saturdays just isn't realistic for your average adult woman stitcher these days. We work full time, folks. We're not stay-at-home wives. In fact, most of us aren't. *sigh*

But anyway... we went shopping. And then we came back to my place, where we spent the day doing crafty things, talking about life, the sorority we all belong to (these stitch 'n bitches have been the closest thing we have to official meetings after all), and just hung out. Erich kept the drinks rolling for us, cooked food, etc. He was awesome.

The girls left around midnight, and I went on to another one of my semi-sleepless nights due to cough. Whee.

On Sunday, we spent the day doing some small tidy projects around the house. Erich was daring and jumped in to take care of the worst of my office - it's actually CLEAN now! I just need to go through the boxes to put stuff on shelves, sort through stuff for our yard sale/toss out, etc.

Since I was still coughing quite a bit, I forced myself to do small stuff that would keep me mostly on the couch. Any time I started doing stairs, I started coughing. So I caught up on all of the dishes and got the kitchen somewhat scrubbed up (still need to do those scary floors), gathered laundry up (Erich had to do it, though... due to the aforementioned stairs), and then settled on the couch. I took advantage of the forced couch time to sort through my stitching stuff - both the new stuff that was bought on Saturday and everything else that had been bought but not stored.

So I spent about, I kid you not, six hours winding bobbins of overdyed thread & labelling them. I removed all of the patterns that were in plastic bags from said bags and stapled or paperclipped as needed, and put them all in a magazine rack. They can't stay in the plastic - we have cats who think plastic is a food group. They will literally EAT any plastic bag that comes into the house. So yeah... *sigh* And I had a lot to do, because while I've bought stuff over the past year I haven't really done much of my own stitching - I got too involved in round robin stitching last year to concentrate on my own. So it was good to get a sense of some of what I have. The rest will come as I get my office together. And then post wedding, I'll REALLY get back into my stitching - because I'll be too broke to do much else!

It was tedious, but it kept me sitting still and resting my lungs, which is what I needed to do, but I got stuff done, and that's good. I think I watched the entire season of Ice Road on Discovery, too. Those guys? They are crazy. Driving semis over frozen lakes in Canada in the winter? I realize it's the only practical way to get stuff to those mines... but damn.

So all in all, it was a productive weekend, a fun weekend, and still an annoying weekend because of my cough.

Should be an interesting week, too. ;)