Its Wednesday and I have some time for me to blog some more about the recent events of our lives.

This past Thursday, after work, Keith and I began our sojourn in the car to Pennsylvania to participate in and attend my best friend Amanda's wedding. We arrived Friday around lunchtime in Bedford as pretty much scheduled.

After getting dressed and ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner, we saw my mother quickly as she came home from work and spoke to her boyfriend Dave as he arrived from Wilkes Barre to attend Amanda's wedding and spend the weekend with Mom.

Keith and I attended the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. After it was all done, we asked the happy couple if they had any plans and we all agreed to go out for some drinks before turning in. We came to my home to change into more comfortable clothing, and Mom and Dave were out. Keith and I didn't think anything of it though, and proceeded to the Jean Bonnet restaurant for sparkling wine. We came home, it looked like everyone was asleep, so we went to sleep too! It was going to be a busy day tomorrow, and I was due at the hair salon at 9 am sharp.

The following morning I woke early confusedly to the sounds of my mother's car departing. I found a note in the kitchen that informed me that David inexplicably had an infection in his finger, had gone to the ER the night before with Mom, and was headed back there for a check up. The news, when I talked to Mom, was bad. Somehow he had gotten an infection during the week while grass seeding his lawn which had gotten progressively worse the last two days. A worsening of symptoms alarmed the medical staff at the local hospital, which advised him to head to Pittsburgh post haste to see a specialist. Thus, my next job was to tell Amanda and her mother that my mom and David would not be in attendence. They took it relatively well, reacting with concern for my mother and David.

I had my hair done by curling it all over, the ladies and I then proceeded, after some discussion, to my place for some breakfasty items. I sent Keith out to the local Weis Market for muffins, some croissants, fruit, and juice. We then all did our makeup in my mother's bedroom, since it was better than the lighting in the church. I did Amanda's eyeliner, and helped Lindsey with her eyeliner and shadow. The ladies left, as I decided to get into my gown and then drive over. That's when disaster struck again.

My gown wouldn't zip up...or rather...it did zip up and would split in the middle. And then I remembered what my seamstress told me last year when she inexplicably replaced my zipper on my wedding gown...that the zippers in special occasion gowns aren't meant to be put on and off a lot...they tend to break because they are only good for a handful of on and off. I had spent Friday afternoon trying on the gown with a bunch of undergarments to see what looked best and now the teeth in the middle weren't interlocking.

After three attempts to undo and fix the zipper, Keith had to sew me into the gown. It took him about 45 minutes, but there I was. Finally we ran over to the church just in time for group photos. Photos were taken, I spent a good deal of my time trying to not get emotional looking at Amanda who was all girled up and frankly, radiant. I thought a lot about our childhood and talking about when we'd get married and what we'd do--and now...we were both going to be married.


The wedding proceeded with Amanda finally breaking down and crying during the vows. Amanda exited after I handed her her bouquet and gave her a kiss on the cheek. After the receiving line was complete, we ran the happy couple through the birdseed gauntlet (I got decked again too--damn, I thought I didn't have to worry about that again) and finally they got away in her foil confetti filled Sebring convertible.

Keith and I made our way to the reception, after a short pitstop at my house we followed John and Amanda around for a while as they took some reception shots and finally headed to the reception for a much needed cocktail. Or two. Or five. I also drank the champagne that my mom and Dave would have had. It was strange, because none of it had any effect. Perhaps it was the menu of chicken cordon bleu and roast beef and butter pierogies. Or the groom and bride's cake.

At the end, Keith and I helped gather up gifts, centerpieces, Amanda's bouquet, the favors and programs we had saved for my mom, Amanda's clothing from earlier in the day, emergency kits, etc. While the reception really winded down around 9:30 pm, we departed about 11 am after much last minute photo taking, conversation gabbing..Keith and I finally trudged home. I was DYING to get the dress off of me as it wasn't the most flattering and certainly wasn't comfortable by this point. Keith took a seam ripper and got me out of the dress and I was able to change into a T-shirt and fall asleep.

Next morning we prepared to clean up and pack and drop off all the miscellaneous wedding stuff our car was filled with. We got mostly packed and then ran over all the wedding stuff (bells, bouquets, and gifts). We shot the breeze, sort of a post-game wedding play, and then said goodbye. Back at my childhood home we finished packing, loaded the car, and then headed back to the scene of the rehearsal dinner for a early birthday lunch with my father, paternal grandparents, and some other family. Lunch was pleasant and fairly uneventful--I got some beautiful hot pink roses, some cards, and we all shared a cream cake.

On the road, we headed to Lancaster where we spent time with Keith's family and especially our two nieces. Mackenzie and Hailey are getting so big, Hailey has the most beautiful smile, especially when she is tickled. Mackenzie is well into her terrible twos, and jealous of her little baby sister. She is certainly asserting herself as many toddlers do. Monday's drive home was as pleasant as it can be, followed by some quality time together before Keith left me to unpack and work a few extra hours.

This was my first wedding since my own wedding September 3, 2005. And this is what I figured out:

1.) Watching people take marriage vows, reminds and sort of reaffirms the vows you took with your spouse.
2.) Being a matron/maid of honor (the only other time I was in a wedding party was a flower girl at age 8) really is an honor--and its particularly memorable to be with family members as they prepare to give away their child and to be so closely entwined in the wedding excitement.

As for David, he was still in the hospital in Pittsburgh last time I heard. He has had to deal with antibiotic IVs, Percoset, and doctors telling him that he may lose the finger. I hope he is feeling better.

You'll have to excuse the lack of postings on this blog. Why, pray tell?

Lots of stuff has happened, almost all of it FANTASTIC!

As I type, I have five jobs up for contention (3 at Harvard, 1 at BU, and 1 at Suffolk University). Already one of those jobs I haven't interviewed yet, and one I am positive I DO NOT want. All revolve around program coordination, student activities, event planning, and residence life or a combination of those things.

Yes, I already have my first and second choices vetted, but I do not wish to spill the beans to the general public. Hopefully my first two will come through--they could switch spots in their ranks depending on whatever the actual offer could be.

So PLEASE KEEP YOUR FINGERS CROSSED! I've had three interviews come up at most before, and even then, they weren't as great pickings. I really want one of my two top choices, and would even settle for my third, but I'd be a little disappointed. As I said, one is no longer an option (I'd rather temp) and the other I haven't interviewed for yet.

Second, my bestest buddy is getting married this weekend! Yay! Sadly, she recently informed me via her MySpace blog that her mother is sick and trying to recover from breast cancer. I'm really upset about this. We really don't have cancer in my family (although we have plenty of other things) but Amanda's mom has been like a second mom to me since....I don't know when. To put it in perspective, Amanda has known me since preschool and we've been friends since about age 5. I'm almost 26. That means she has known me for (oh, for arguments sake) 21 years compared to my husband's 6.5 years. That's something to think about for sure. I hope she does get well and the family is able to put it all behind them at least on Saturday. After the wedding is over, concentration can really begin on making sure Vicki gets well.

Lastly, the apartment is approaching some semblance of doneness! Yay! Soon I will publish a comprehensive list of what I like about this apartment (and what I really don't.)

Toot-a-loo!

So its been awhile since the last update...here goes:

This past weekend Keith and I, and two friends of ours, Dan and Mandy, drove to Old Lyme, Connecticut to lay around Keith's grandparents former home (now owned by Keith's Uncle Pete and Aunt Margo) and retrieve some dining room furniture gifted by Keith's Babcia and Dziadzi following their move from the area and our wedding last year. Unfortunately, the weekend did not cooperate being dismally gray and rainy however, it became miraculously blue skied and sunny later Sunday afternoon, similiar to the weather we had on our wedding day.

We gifted each other things in the traditional fashion of "paper" wedding gifts being that we felt it would be a nice way to be creative. Keith and I had kept a good many (almost all) of the cards and love letters we had exchanged since the beginning of our courtship and so, I made a scrapbook of those items as best as possible considering the lack of time and the state of our home. Keith has long since been interested in taking a bookbinding course at my favorite paper store in the world Paper Source (http://www.paper-source.com). So I got him a gift certificate for the most expensive course so he could have his pick.

Keith gifted me with a orchid he made from a paper flower kit and two other kits (magnolias and bluebells). Best of all, he ordered personalized letterpress stationery with my name in my favorite colors, blue and brown. The stationery will take 4-6 weeks to come in, and I've insisted that it also be my birthday gift and possibly my Christmas gift because personalized letterpress is SICK expensive.

We returned Monday, Labor Day, and indeed it was laborious. After loading the dining table, chairs, and a separated china cabinet into the UHaul we split. Mandy rode in the car with me and we chatted easily about stuff, Keith and Dan went in the truck. Upon arrival in Boston, Mandy and Keith did most of the lifting because both Dan and I were injured.

Oh yeah...I was injured. The last bit of our move was seriously complicated due to the fact that I spent my last week of unemployment with a severely sprained ankle. This occured because I was taking the trash out the night of August 29th in the dark stairwell of our building (all the bulbs were out). I went down and my ankle made a very, very loud popping sound. The pain was excruciating. So excruciating I was dizzy and in near shock and seeing purple spots. IT WAS BAD. *sniffle* Its getting better now over a week later, but I still need an ace bandage; the ankle's quite tender still.

So back to the rest of the move...the furniture was finally all moved in today, and there's still halfway unpacked boxes everywhere, but we're hoping to make the weekend quite productive by painting our armoire and putting it back together thus giving Keith back his clothing storage, hanging our IKEA chandelier, maybe painting the rest of our bedroom furniture, hanging pictures, our medicine cabinet, and getting our kitchen into some semblence of order.

I started work Wednesday at Harvard's Alumni Affairs and Development Office compiling biographies of nominees for COUR (Commitee of University Resources) which has some pretty prestigious people. I've been given a log in and access to their database so that I am able to compile pertinent information on the candidates. Nearly all are Harvard affiliated and some are QUITE high in stature. I will finish on Tuesday or Wednesday and then move onto my next temporary assignment. The real issue is working around Amanda's upcoming weddding...after that, I should be able to take a long-term assignment.

Hope ya'll are enjoying these last balmy days of early fall/late summer!

Duh, da da duh, duh, da da duh...DA DUM!!! *timpanis sound*

Its the dreaded September 1st. I just got back from errands and it is a NIGHTMARE out there. A total nightmare.

Trucks everywhere, cars backed up everywhere. I ran to the store so that I could get some items for our first wedding anniversary Sunday. (Yup, its been one year...)

Finally everything we own is in our home or in our car. We have left 158 Kelton. Now we just have to figure out where to put everything. *sigh*

This weekend we are headed with some friends to Lyme, Connecticut to pick up some furnishings we were gifted with last year. One is a china cabinet, so we will be able to put all these dishes away. I hope. Sawing it in half is NOT an option.