Ahem.

would just like to let you all know that I'm blogging from my phone now. which means, of course, that I got a new phone. and that I haven't mastered the art of capitalizing sentences on it yet. you can take the girl out of the dark ages, but you can't take the luddite out of the girl, it seems.

As I was saying...

Super-Fiance and I had a lovely dinner with lovely people last week, and a part of our conversation got me thinking. We were chatting about how our wedding planning process is going, and I sort of ungracefully fell all over myself in apologizing for what I felt was a blatant takeover of the conversation (in hindsight, I think it was really ok). I fear I've been a bit hyper-aware of talking about wedding stuff, not talking about wedding stuff *too much*, and making sure nobody gets annoyed that there's so much talk about wedding stuff. In case you didn't already know, I can worry with the best of 'em.

Anyway, in my zeal to shield those around me from All Things Wedding and to maintain my status as a well-rounded individual (not a whole lot would make me more sad than the prospect that someone thinks I, in my bridehood, want only to discuss my own nuptials), I've been saying a lot of "... right, so that's going well, but how are YOU?" and "oh, it'll just fall into place. how's things with your [job, kids, spouse, whatever]," and other phrases of deflection. In the conversation over last week's dinner, though, I didn't get away with it, and as it turns out, I'm so pleased.

I realized that, rather than shying away from the topic as a glaring mark of conceit, it can actually be embraced as a way of connecting with people. If we hadn't been talking about our wedding and how we're trying to create the day and celebration that's right for us, we wouldn't have heard about our companions' wedding, what made it special to them, and how they arrived at some of the elements they remember most vividly. I mean, really, in most ordinary conversations, it would be more than a little odd for someone to interject "so, hey, our wedding four years ago was so much fun. let me tell you about the best parts..." but in the context of a discussion of marriage that's already begun, it's a really nice sentiment of advice and commonality, and it's perfectly logical. Almost everyone has either had a wedding or been in a wedding or been *to* a wedding, and all of those experiences -- and resulting commentaries -- are fun to hear about.

This is a fun time that we're in, Super-Fiance and I. For several months now, we've been lamenting what feels like forever of a wait until we'll be married, but on the way home from dinner last week, we talked about how lucky we really are that various circumstances conspired to give us a 17-month engagement. Never again will people be so delighted to hear what kind of flowers we like to look at and what kind of music we like to dance to and what kind of cake we like to eat. Never again will people be compelled to share so much of themselves and their thoughts on their own relationships. Well, I suppose they will, but not in quite the same way. We've decided to listen and ask questions and learn and enjoy it all.

Inspired!

Aha! I've got a real, substantive idea for a post that I need to write up! Not a to-do list (however ambitious it may be), not a picture of a sweater (though that's fun, too), and not a little mini-paragraph apologizing for having nothing to say. On the contrary, it's a topic that I hope will be realitively interesting to people other than me.

But for now I have to get ready to go to work. (Work! Yay!)

Yep, still here!

Well hey there, everyone! I'd like to assure you, because I'm sure you were ever so worried, that I'm still alive. Working during the day and thus unable to blog whenever the mood strikes, but alive.

I've been knitting a bit here and there, and am just wrapping up my version of Joan McGowan-Michael's Waist Cincher Top, in a cotton/angora blend. This, too, has slowed dramatically with the shift in my weekly schedule, but I should have a photo of the finished piece later this week.

I'm also noticing that our social pendulum is swinging back to slightly-hectic, after a couple weeks of relative quiet. This is great for the part of me that thrives on and is energized by good conversation and catching up with friends and that sort of give-and-take. It's less great for the part of me that needs time for solitude and peacefulness and general recharging. Thankfully, the quiet is sure to return soon enough, hopefully only for about as long as it takes for me to be wishing for more excitement again. That's usually how it ends up working out. Good job, universe, way to be balanced. I approve.

Real Weekend

I've been saying for a while now that the days of the week have been blurring together for me. Weekends haven't felt all that different from weekdays for several months, what with the whole not-having-a-workplace-to-go-to thing. Saturdays and Sundays have been consistently great because of the additional time to spend with Mr. Terrific, but my own schedule hasn't fluctuated all that much. Laundry? Yeah, I can do that any old day, whenever I get to it. Big elaborate dinner? Sure, I can start mincing garlic at 3:00 if I want to.

This Monday, though, I'll be rejoining the work force (hooray!) and my weekdays will once again be workdays. This weekend coming up is a real weekend. I'll need to ramp up the time management in the future, but for now, I have three days in front of me to get things done. Things like, oh, these:

- Bake a batch of bread
- Rake the leaf-filled yard
- Investigate and acquire fall-planted flowers
- Organize the chaos that is our basement storage (well, start on that, anyway)
- Caulk the gaps around all the interior window trim to keep heat in and cold out
- Savor last opportunity to go to the gym at a non-peak time (6:30am gym trips start next week!)

As Promised

I promised photos, and hoo boy, do I have photos. Engagement photos, to be exact. Our photographer, who is awesome talent-wise and awesome personality-wise, threw an engagement session into our photo package. Not only did it put us at ease with the concept of having so many pictures taken of us, it made me more confident that yes, I'm perfectly capable of doing my own makeup when important (read: wedding) photographs will be involved. Oh, right, and we got some pretty fantastic photos out of the bargain, too, as evidenced here:







If you aren't sick of looking at us, there's more photo-y goodness over here.