What to Wear?

Next April, Jersey and I are having a large wedding/reception in Las Vegas in which we will declare our commitment while surrounded by family and friends. Many (many) people have asked which one of us will wear a dress and which will wear pants, as though there is a one-person limit on that sort of thing. The answer is that, in April, both of us will wear beautiful white wedding gowns. While both of us have a distinct tomboy side, we look forward to being princesses on that day.

Then, we started planning the details of our legal ceremony, to be held in MA in September. Since it's going to be such a small (albeit important) ceremony, we figured we'd go get a couple of white sundresses and some sandals; outfits that would be simple, yet cute. So, last weekend we went shopping...

Side note: The stores at the mall, plus the other random chain stores we hit, were insanely crowded! Even more so than during the holiday season. I get that it was back-to-school shopping, but WOW! It seems like the number of people who celebrate holidays is larger than the number of people going back to school, plus the economy is supposed to suck right now, so I did not expect those crowds.

Jersey and I battled the crowds and searched everywhere for great dresses. There were a few that we sort of liked, but we didn't really want to get married in anything that we sort of liked. I was getting frustrated and said, jokingly, that I wished we could just get some comfy matching white sweats and be done. Then I thought. And thought some more. Finally, I said, "I'm not kidding. We should just get something cute and comfy and screw the whole dress thing."

The result:
I can not put into words how completely excited Jersey and I are about finding these outfits. It may seem silly to other people, but they are so perfectly "us" and we're already doing the fancy thing in April, so we don't feel like we're totally disregarding formality. I'm giggling even as I write this post! Ahhh, we are so happy to be getting married and this is like the goofy icing on the cake! Yay!

Life

I've been gone from here for a very long time. I'd apologize, but I'm not entirely sure I'm really sorry about it. I mean, I'm sorry that I haven't been able to connect with the few of you who read me, but I'm not sorry that I've been really busy with life. Let's see if I can catch you up on the highlights...

Work - So, there I was, struggling to keep my job. A job a really don't even like that much. I was thinking about starting a Masters program at night and looking for other employment. Then, the owner of the company for which I work decided to let go of her executive assistant, and she needed someone she trusted to jump in and help while she interviewed for a new EA. I offered, she accepted, and I found myself with a "part-time" and "temporary" second job. What I thought would be a chance to just make a few extra dollars turned into about 35 hours a week for over two months. You see, the owner goes through a very slooooow interview process, so it took her quite a while to find someone.

Once the new EA had arrived, I was busy training her and working on a couple of projects that were already in progress. I figured I'd be around another week or two to wrap things up, but nope. Out of nowhere, the owner's administrative manager/coordinator decided to just bail on the job. Suddenly, the owner desperately needed help filling that position, so I moved over to that desk. It's now been about three weeks and she is really no closer to hiring a new employee. As for me, I'm up to almost 40 hours a week, plus a pay raise when I moved into the second position. So, what's the craziest part about all of this? I'm still doing my regular job...though I now do it in the morning, at lunch, at night, and on weekends. I'm pretty exhausted and a little stressed, but all my extra effort may pay for the wedding. To pay the wedding off without dipping into my normal income would be incredible! Speaking of which...

The Wedding - Jersey and I spent a long weekend in June in New Jersey (with a quick trip to NYC for dinner & drinks) to celebrate our East Coast engagement party/bridal shower. It was a ton of fun to meet even more of her family and friends, plus the extra time I spent with those closest to her. I love that everyone has welcomed me with open arms and I'm glad to be a part of their lives, even in small ways.

We came back to Vegas in time for my sister and T. (my mom's significant other) to arrive in town; my sister stayed for almost three weeks, T. moved here. We all had a great time and spent one night on the West Coast engagement party, which was mostly my co-workers and a handful of friends. Oh, and my sister and I went to try on pretty bridesmaid dresses for her!

Jersey and I really need to finalize our official wedding guest list and send out Save the Date magnets...

The big hoopla wedding/reception for all the family and friends is taking place on April 24, 2010, so we have a bit of time to get our shit together for that, but time flies. Really, I have no idea where the year has gone. And while we may have time for the big hoopla planning, we are getting married in Massachusetts in four weeks.

Repeat.

We are getting married in Massachusetts in FOUR WEEKS! Ahhhh! Ok, I'm really thrilled, but WOW, that's right around the corner. We have a Justice of the Peace and will be getting married in her gazebo, which will be perfect. Plus, given the waiting period and the holiday weekend, we will have some time to relax in New England. I'm very much looking forward to that and have already warned my "part-time" "temporary" boss that I will not reschedule my wedding for her.

TLC - With everything going on right now, I have made a very conscious effort to do nice things for myself (and Jersey) on occasion. In the past several weeks, we've made a trip to a nearby winery, strolled through our favorite outdoor shopping center, treated ourselves to massages, and jumped in the car for a very random trip to San Diego. It's been amazing to reconnect with special moments in the midst of such a crazy time.

Ok, I'm yawning a LOT right now, so I'm gonna stop here...but I'm sure I'll be going into more details about all of this stuff at various times. Thanks to those of you who came back to read after all this time and I really have been reading you, too, even when I haven't had the chance to comment. I'll be back!