I Haven't Written in a While

A ton has happened since I graduated. Just think...it's only been three weeks.

I bought my wedding dress on May 18. It is beautiful beyond comprehension and I look sublimely amazing in it (I can say sublimely - I looked it up). I won't post pictures on here because my fiancé has been known to visit here without warning. I don't want him to have to deal with the temptation of peeking. I will gladly show pictures to you in person - you only have to ask.

Josh left for North Carolina May 30 and he arrived this afternoon. He's there for an REU, Research Experience for Undergratuates. He's staying in a house provided by the school, UNCG (the University of North Carolina, Greensboro), and doesn't know how many roommates he'll have. He'll be there until the end of July. I'm going to try and fly over there a day or two before he leaves to see NC - I've never been there - and ride back with him. I ran this idea past my mother and she said that it sounded like a great idea, as long as I could afford the one-way ticket. Oh, another good thing about the NC thing is that all of Josh's travel expenses, gas, hotel, and food, will be reimbursed after his stay, in addition to his paycheck. His being gone will be difficult, but I bought a webcam with some of my graduation money so that we can see each other while chatting on the internet. We hope that it will make the time apart easier.

Josh and I have basically chosen Crossroads for our wedding venue. We haven't saved the date with the church yet, but it will be done before long. Mom still wants a certain seating arrangement for the wedding, but Josh and his mother don't like it at all. I wish I wasn't in the middle of it, as I don't really have a preference for the seating. A great thing about Crossroads is that there is no guest limit, which means we don't have to limit our guest list. Josh wants me to invite everyone I know. I'm not sure if I will or not.

I got a lot of ideas for my wedding when I was at the wedding of Jason and Sarah Aderholt this Saturday. I have a lot of do's and dont's that I picked up from talking with people, especially with Julie Zepp, who was the wedding coordinator. I'm hoping to have coffee with her sometime this month to talk over things.

I can't wait to start putting some of my ideas into action. I'm to the point where I don't want ideas anymore, I want things to happen. I want to say, this will happen, or we will have this or that in this place, etc. And I don't want to be the middle man in this planning thing. I want to have time with Josh to decide these things and I want them because we want them, not because Mother H or Mother G said so. Ideas and advice are fine, but if we don't want something and we tell you that, shut up about it.

John returned from Russia today and brought with him a lot of stories and some really cool presents. He gave William a wooden Morning Star, which for those of you who don't know, is what you would think of as a Mace. Apparently the two are different and John knows the differences, so if you're curious, just ask him. Anyway, Mom got a set of Babushka (sp?) dolls and they get REALLY tiny. Just when you think it can't get any smaller, the thing opens and reveals the tiniest little piece of carved and painted wood. It's amazing. He got me a beautiful knitted shawl, which changes shades from white to dark purple. It's thin, yet surprisingly warm. He got my dad the coolest thing ever. The base of the thing is basically a glass lens. What sits on the base is a glass orb with the solar system lasered into it, complete with all the planets, from the sun to Pluto. The details in this thing are incredible! Saturn has its rings, though Jupiter and Uranus don't. Earth looks like a globe and has the continents shaded in and even some longitudinal and latitudinal lines drawn on it. My favorite parts are that it shows the orbits of each planet, the sun is a flaming ball, and there are even stars scattered about. It's pretty much one of the top five coolest things I've seen.

Sorry I was so long to update. I have been busy with work and visiting venues and spending precious time with Joshua and I didn't have the time to sit down and write.

Lori, I need to get in touch with you and set up a time for coffee. I have a bunch of things I want to tell you and ask you.

To all, have a good night and a good Monday.