bride-foo

So here's what married life is like.

It's very, very good.

The joke I tell everyone who asks "How's married life?" (and everyone asks) is that if I had known beforehand how great being married was, I would have done it a lot sooner. And it's the truth - sort of. I mean, cosmically and blah-de-blah blah, Jason and I met at the right time, married at the right time, and are starting a life together at the right time. But I wonder sometimes why this happiness was withheld from me for so long - why I had to struggle through an awkward, geeky childhood, failed and depressing relationships, and really bad karma in general to get to this happy place. All that must meaned I've earned it. But was all that really necessary?

We'll probably begin house hunting around Christmas or so. Jason's project manager took him aside last week and basically told him they're planning to hire him, and the offer letter should be in his hands in the next couple weeks or so. He's discreetly looking around at what others in similar positions are making, because we think their initial offer is a little low. Either way, it's good money and will come in handy when we have a mortgage to pay. Especially since, while my job is great, it won't be terribly lucrative for a while.

No babies for two years or as long as we can avoid it, whichever comes first.

I like looking at Jason's hand. Specifically, I like looking at the ring on Jason's hand. It's just a plain platinum band, like mine, and we've already both scratched them up nicely. But oh what that ring symbolizes. My eternal love and commitment to him, and his to me. Our lifelong partnership, forged in precious metal.

We went to Durango last weekend to celebrate Jason's granparents' 60th wedding anniversary. Jason's grandmother is almost completely blind thanks to macular degeneration, and his grandfather speaks haltingly. But they're both kind and quick-witted, and at the end of the party in their honor, they said to those assembled, "See you in 10 years." I want Jason and I to make to 60, and to 70, and as far as we can go before we're both coughing up blood and peeing into a tube as we breath our last. Romantic vision, I know, but I can't imaging being married to anyone else, and I can't imagine not being married to him.

Next week: The joys of flatulence, and sharing them with your spouse.

So, we're all married now...

...but I feel like we should keep the site going. Share our experiences of life after the wedding. Or something. Anyone? Bueller?

Work Shower

The ladies at work threw me a shower last week and we had such fun. It had a German theme, so here you can see them with the tub of German beer...and they just completely overwhelmed me with gifts - after four years, I guess they still liked me! Below you can see a shot of the beautiful flowers they sent me home with.

Nearing the Finish

Thanks to my fabulous family, the 150 programs were finished tonight. I am thrilled with how they turned out. They are 4 pages on ivory linen paper (God bless Kinko's), about half a sheet, veritcal and tied at the top with black ribbon.

My bridal portrait is in and I run over to pick it up tomorrow. Jim (our photographer) also wants to take the time then to sit down and talk about the 'must take shots' and any other of those pesky details. This is good because each day closer to the wedding means fewer brain cells available to think about anything OTHER than J.

Today is the big day!

We're looking forward to seeing everyone, and we can't wait to be married! Hooray!

We've been in Austin since Sunday night. And it's been a hectic week, to say the least. Lots of spending lots of money. Lots of errand to run, people to meet, tasks to finish. But I can comfortably say we're ready to get this show on the road.

Thursday night, Amanda, Melissa and I went out to have a little bachelorette shindig. We had dinner at Jazz, a Cajun restaurant on 6th Street, then headed up and down the street stopping in just about every place that had no cover charge. Melissa recorded a short video of me being serenaded at a piano bar (after being brought to the stage with "She's no lady, she's my wife") that I'll eventually post. I took snapshots of the two of them dancing on the bar at Coyote Ugly (I would have joined them, but I was wearing a skirt). We also hit a couple gay dance clubs (one of them more than once after we made the mistake of picking up a guy who wouldn't leave Amanda alone and had to be ditched), and in my semi-drunken stupor I was hit on by a bisexual blad man named Slash who said I had "dangerous curves." Melissa sat down next to me at one point, snapped a couple pictures and left to dance some more. "Slash" asked me if he had cramped my style with my girlfriend; I told him she was my sister-in-law. He laughed the funniest embarrassed laugh I've ever heard, then told me he had three words of advice for me: "Don't do it." I had a blast, and no hangover to speak of.

The rehearsal and dinner went swimmingly last night. The rehearsal only took about 30 minutes because everyone had a pretty good idea of where they were going and how to stand. Denise said it was her fastest rehearsal ever. Afterward, the bridal party and Jason's parents hung out and wander around the museum until 5 p.m., when we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner.

The dinner was much better than I expected. The serving staff was extremely helpful, everything tasted wonderful, the room looked great... several guests said it was the best rehearsal dinner they had ever been to. My mom was the only member of my family able to make it, so I was worried she might be overwhelmed by Jason's family, which took up half of the dinner guest list. But she settled in nicely, and they made her feel completely welcome. She was in the hospital a week ago recovering from various ailments, and it was good to see her out and about.

So now, it's all over but the partying! I have breakfast with the girls -- I think the guys have something similar planned -- and I'd like to fit in a pedicure. Other than that, everything is done. I just have to show up back at the hotel by 1 p.m. for my hair and makeup. And in about 12 hours, I'll officially be Mrs. Jason Johnston. A whole new chapter of our life is beginning, and I can't wait for it to start.

Speaking of pressure...

I'm needing to work up a timeline for the day of the wedding for all the various family members who will be around.

Some examples can be found here, here, and some incredibly detailed/anal retentive stuff is here.

Let me know if you guys find anything else.

Grace under pressure

From the Things Will Go Wrong And It Will Still Be Okay department:

My coworker's wedding was Saturday night, and it was lovely. He swung by our table at one point and pointed to a small child running around the reception. "See that boy?" he said. "He's the son of the woman who made our cake for us as a gift. Around lunchtime today, he...fell in the cake." He paused as we all turned, incredulously, to the beautiful cake on the other side of the room. "She missed the ceremony, but that is the cake she made this afternoon."

She was their first toast of the evening and got a huge and much deserved round of applause.

Bride-itis

Bride-itis: the inability of a bride to think of anything except her own wedding. (I appear to have an acute case.)

Also, people who think letter writing is a lost art should get married. I've done nothing but write thank yous.

Crisis Averted, Take Two

The dress was found. UPS had gotten both the name *and* the address on the shipping label wrong, and it ended up at the building next door to Melissa's. It has been found, and it is now being altered by one of Melissa's friends in the wardrobe department at Blue Man Group, because apparently there were a few extra inches in the bust she didn't need.

If all our problems arose and resolved themselves before the wedding, I would be much appreciative.

UPS = Lucifer

Everything was going so well. Invitations were arriving. People were replying. Tiny details were falling into place. Then I disovered two very good friends had not received invitations. I panicked, wondering who else's invite might be struggling its way through the mail at a snail's pace. But I tried not to let it bother me. I enjoyed a shower my coworkers threw for me and Jason. I wandered around the mall looking for a rehearsal dinner dress. I casually asked Melissa if her bridesmaid's dress had arrived.

It had not. I shipped it 2nd Day last Monday. Trying to remain calm, I gathered the tracking info and sat down to see where it was. Maybe it was just waiting to be picked up, or signed for. Maybe the address was wrong and it was on its way back to me.

Tracking info says the package was signed for and delivered on Wednesday.

Melissa has checked with everyone in her building, and no one has signed for it. She even checked with the cheese shop across the street from her. Nothing. All we know is that at 6:10 p.m. Wednesday, someone who was not in Melissa's apartment (UPS error #1) signed for a package with the name "JOSNSS", obviously not Melissa's name (UPS error #2). Now, with two weeks left, we have to either wait for the package to miraculously get to Melissa from this mystery signer, or see if Aria will possibly super-rush an order to us, which will no doubt triple the cost and make this the most expensive bridesmaid's dress ever. Except, perhaps, for a Vera Wang bought on clearance.

I'm trying not to get too upset, because there's very little I can do. I had my hair done yesterday at Toni & Guy, and that was definitely a pick-me-up. If it wasn't so expensive - $135 for my color and cut, plus a nice tip - I'd be there every week. Instead of going with muted red highlights, I went for something more bold, similar to the color I had it fresh out of college. There's an abundance of blonde. People will be surprised. I look sassy, Jason loves it, and at least my hair will look fabulous in the photos, if not my flabby arms and excessive boobs,