Day o' Shopping

Whew! I don't think I've shopped that long or so purposefully in a looonnnngggg time. I entered my first store at 1 p.m and left the last at 10:30. Okay, so there was a little driving and dinner in between, but altogether (is that a word?) it was probably six to seven hours. And it was not fun. Waaay too much to look for in one day. Just today, I was looking for:

- dresses (one for the rehearsal dinner and another to leave the wedding in--lame, yes. Necessary, of course.)
- an assortment of wedding day attire, mainly shoes (because I'm taking my dress to be altered tomorrow and I just yesterday got the bright idea to check to see of the shoes I already had matched my dress. They don't.)
- another outfit/suit for my interview because I'm really paranoid they'd notice the same one
- jewelry and shoes for my shower this weekend because I wanted to wear my new brown dress and I (of course) didn;t have any brown shoes that matched.

So basically every department of every store in the mall got to see my shining face today. Because running around like a madwoman tends to make me hot and sweaty and we'll just say I was "glistening" by the end of the night. But, Ray was coming to town from Ellijay and met me at the mall. When he's in a good mood, he's actually a pretty good shopping buddy. Who doesn't want to hear constantly how beautiful they are even when clothes don't fit? (Sorry for the cheese, but I got a good one!) And I managed to pick up some things on my list, and a few extras that I "needed". You, know, the stuff that you always say, "I should get that," and never do? Like, a new wallet and brown pumps? Besides, I've been talking about needing a wallet for awhile and every time something comes up I need new shoes. I just knew I'd need brown work shoes eventually, so why not now when JC Penney's is having a sale? But the only thing I didn't get were wedding shoes. First of all, it's impossible to find ivory shoes, and second, do shoe designers think that everyone who wants ivory shoes needs to add four inches to the bottom of her feet? I really think one day I might open a shoe store for girls with short, wide feet with tall arches and the need to stay close to the ground instead of weebling on five-inch spikes. So anyway, we're just going to take the shoes I have and then every pair I try on we're going to measure the heel to make sure it's around two inches (in case you wanted to know).

Enough if my shopping soliloquy. Off to bed.

Freaking out

For those of you who have already heard me rambling about this, sorry. For those of you who haven't, oh. my. goodness. I got a call back from the interview I had yesterday. I just scheduled a meeting with the Vice President of Development at a museum. A BIG museum. After all this time, I now really might have to make a choice. Granted, it depends on how well the second interview goes, but still. Options? Choices? I figured I'd take the first job that came to me and thank my lucky stars someone didn't care how little experience I have. But two came at the same time. Hmmm. Good problem to have, but which to pick? Hourly-waged internship for two months doing something that would be really fun for an organization I really care about without the guarantee of a full-time position later, or full-time, salaried position for a cool museum doing lots of different things that, while not something I dreamed of doing, would also be really fun? (That was a really long sentence...sorry. I ramble without punctuation.) Ray keeps telling mt to follow my heart. Thanks Ray. Big help from my hubby-to-be. (But really, he wants me to be happy.)

But I have a little time to think. Lots actually. But now I'm off to something that keeps my mind of problems...shopping!

Have I ever told you...

How awesome Google Analytics really is? Or maybe it's just the random things that pop up. In the past few days, I've had people from Indiana, New York, Texas and California (by the way, I need serious geography lessons--I thought Indiana was Ohio) visit my blog. I've had a few people come directly to the site (which is probably just my friends adding me to favorites or something?). And a select few found my blog searching for... (are you ready?)... "ihop ellijay," "ellijay ihop," "chick-fil-a coming to ellijay," and "80s fashion weddings." I get that I said a redeeming quality of Ellijay is the fact that it's getting an Ihop and a Chick-fil-A (survival restaurants, people), but why is someone searching blogs? Will corporate location finders not do the job well enough? Did you need to get some local's opinion on the situation? Maybe someone is being transferred from Texas or Indiana or (I feel really sorry for them if this is the case) New York and they thought, "Man, what am I going to do in Ellijay? WAIT! Maybe they have an Ihop! That'll make it all better!" (Ahhh, kindred spirit... spirits, actually, because two people searched for this.)

And for anyone wanting an 80s fashion wedding, DO. NOT. DO IT. Bad idea. You may love 80s parties and think the music is rockin' and people may even tell you that you look like Debbie Gibson and your fiance looks like he could be in NKOTB (before they got old), but you. will. regret it. Your children probably will too. Blue eyeshadow and that side ponytail never look as good in pictures. And you'll probably end up on 1. America's Funniest Home Videos (because something disastrously funny always seems to happen at theme weddings), 2. Wedding Dos and Don'ts on E!, or 3. What not to Wear. Ten years after your blessed event, someone on tv will make fun of you. Lots.

ONE MONTH TO GO!!!

Yup, that's it. September 4 to October 4. WHOA!!! I'm actually getting excited again. For awhile there I was pretty down, kinda over the whole planning thing because it was getting boring/frustrating. BUT I found two things that keep me going: Take frequent peeks at my dress, and check out the website/blog for our honeymoon cabin rental every so often. Just to keep things in perspective.

Just call me Sneezy!

So I have allergies. Indoor allergies, mostly. Cats, dogs, dust. But I love cats, dogs. Not so much dust. And since I got home, they just wouldn't stop bothering me. Sneezing, runny eyes, the whole bit. I finally caved and took some Claritin. And it was great! (Insert choir Ahh-ing majestically here) I could breathe! And see. But last night I took Zyrtec to see if it worked any better. Well, maybe, but it knocked me out. I slept for 10 and 1/2 hours and still had to force myself out of bed. I'm still groggy. So I got to thinking that basically my body is going to adjust to living on Claritin and even after the wedding I'm going to have to take it everyday to keep myself living normally. I didn't take it for a few hours and I thought my sinuses were going to swell shut. Not something I'd like to deal with. Any suggestions on how to get rid of all this? Ugh. Sneeze. Bless me.

Good week...

Things are lookin' up! I have another job interview this week! Tomorrow, to be exact. Just like the last one, I'd rather not say anything about it. But since the other is over, I'm okay with spilling a little info. I interviewed with the Marcus Autism Center with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta to intern with their event planning and development department. Just an internship, but one that I really like with an organization I care about. The one tomorrow is for a real job... completely different from the internship but with a huge non-profit in Atlanta. Ooh, I get nervous and really excited just thinking about it. But it's another one that I think I could do well and really enjoy. So we'll see. The problem is, I tend to over-analyze and over-think. This one is in Decatur...can't live in Ellijay... where would we live? Would Ray get a new job immediately? And on and on. But I'm finally getting called back for all these applications I've been sending in. I was getting really discouraged because I've been sending my resume places since I graduated. I thought no one wanted me, but finally people are responding. Yay! And, since yesterday I was overtaken by a burst of a need to be productive, I wrote thank you cards for my shower! The day after my shower! Look at me, being on top of things.

Miscellaneous wedding updates (for those of you who care)

• We picked up the bridesmaid's dresses! Sooo purple. Sooo pretty. And I got my veil! Not so purple (nope, ivory), just as pretty.
• My mom bought me the necklace I've been wanting! Yay! It's so different from anything else I've found and I didn't think I was going to be able to wear it. Now I just need old, borrowed, and blue!
• We met with Nancy at Great Oaks to talk details. Vendors, layout, timeline (or, in her words, flow). A two hour meeting, but it made me feel a lot better about the wedding weekend.
• The guys got measured for tuxes and Ray and I have to choose them tomorrow. Small probs getting people there on time, but as long as they show up at the wedding on time, I'm okay. But they should remember that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. Especially a high-strung woman in a wedding dress who better not have anyone screw up her day... But in terms of choosing tuxes, not really sure what I can say. A tux is a tux as long as there's not camouflage, lariats or canes and top hats.
• Ray and I also started trying to pick out songs. Not fun. Lots of music playing on two different computers, and it's kind of hard when I'm trying to get the groom to pick something he doesn't care about.
• More forms... we had to fill out a personality profile-type-thing for photography... It's hard. Do you put down words that really describe your personality or what you wish you were? I would love to say I'm elegant and graceful, but chances are that Kate or Matt or a random guest will get multiple pictures of me tripping, falling, or spilling food on my white dress. Because while some people might find photos capturing these events or ones of me making weird faces endearing and a true depiction of my personality, I might fail to see the humor. Until the day I can show them to my children and say, "See? I was always one step away from being in a cast, too!"
• I had my first shower today, hosted by my soon-to-be in-laws (how's that for all you hyphen Nazis! Am I the only one? Ohhhh-kay...) It was great, Diana held it at a little B & B in Dallas, and we all know I love old houses. Good chicken, good salad, good tea, good company, great gifts. Ray got his rice cooker and was really excited when I told him we got a chopper/scooper (?), and I was really excited about the bedspread and our luggage. I surprisingly enjoyed myself. I usuallly hate dressing up and all the girly wedding stuff, but hey, opening gifts I know I like make it easy. And who doesn't like to be the center of attention?

So I think that's it. I go in for my fitting next week, I'm still trying to get hold of a salon to do my hair, and I have to get tanned and waxed and manicured (stuff that I'm hoping will be the only time... never done any of it before), so maybe by the wedding others' work to make me look like a girl will cover all my stress. Hope with me, people. I need all the help I can get.