Sorry. :)
I’m still here, going about my daily life, which is slowly but surely becoming more strange.
For starters, I’m in France (did you notice?), and life here is just plain weird sometimes. I’m still getting used to everything, but things keep changing on me, which makes that difficult. The latest adventure is the uprising of teachers, professors, and students. They’re protesting some old laws and some new ones, and they are evidently fed up. They’ve closed our university- I arrived one day to find all the doors blocked with tables and chairs from the classrooms. My French course is now being held at another university in town. They have free classrooms because they also are on strike; they haven’t blockaded the buildings, though, so we’re learning in style (more comfortable chairs!).
Secondly, I’m supposed to be getting married this summer, and so I’m planning a wedding from afar and carrying on a long-distance relationship via Google video chat. That’s a whole ‘nother crazy fun story, and if you don’t think it’s at least a bit odd, we might need to have a talk about what you’ve been doing lately.
My wonderful friends are helping me plan this whole thing (by doing all of the work, basically). I have some weird jobs, though: a guest list, registries, finding a dress, deciding on a “theme”… do you know how hard it is to decide who to send an invitation to? Really hard. There are so many people that I want to invite, but Budget yells at me every time I put a name on the list. Come on, Budget. Surely it doesn’t cost that much to print one more invitation? (NB: Budget does not respond to pleading looks) Budget insists on church-wide invitations and will only let me send actual paper ones to Extremely Special People Who Would Be Willing to Donate an Organ Were I Dying of Some Unpronounceable Disease. And family. (heh heh! just kidding, family! You know I love you…)
And registries- I don’t know if I can even explain how weird and difficult it is to write up a list of things that you want people to buy for you. I have a problem, too, with Stuff. Stuff bothers me. I don’t like gadgets, I don’t like clutter, I don’t like knick-knacks. I keep that sort of thing down to a minimum: stuff I actually use and stuff someone I love gave me. And yet, here I am, asking for more things that look an awful like Stuff. I’m having to remind myself of several things (which might seem ridiculous to you, but hey- I’m just ridiculous sometimes):
1. People like us and want to buy us things to help us start our new life together. We should make it easier for them by giving them suggestions.
2. We need forks in order to eat (yeah, I actually had to convince myself to put silverware on the registry). This leads to…
3. I’m not being greedy if I put necessary things on the list. I’m not even being greedy if I put unnecessary things on there- greediness is all about expectation and gratitude. What exactly is my attitude here, and am I honoring God with it? Am I helping or hindering us?
That’s my life right now- exciting for me (YAY! I’m so excited! I get to marry Alexander!!! [only dogs can hear me now]). Maybe not so exciting for you all- I dunno. I don’t want this to become a wedding blog, but that’s basically what I think about all day. Well… when I’m not thinking about Alexander (yes, I am a mushy romantic GIRL). But I’ll try not to over-do it for you. :)
Actually, I think Budget would be happier if you ONLY sent invitations to individual people and DIDN’T send them to whole churches. Because invitations cost very little, but wine and food per family cost more.
Budget is weird like that. And kinda mean….
And confusing, too! Budget is not very friendly with my brain.
Regarding registries – I think you should imagine that you are making an ideal list. “What one should have for a beautiful, well-run household.” Then cross off the things you already own, and leave it up to everyone to decide which things speak most to them. For the record, people should have silverware in a well-run household – how would you make gnocchi w/o forks?:)
Ha! So true- I forgot that I needed forks for the gnocchi. What would I do without all of my friends? You guys are like my second brain… (is that weird?)
Hey, if it helps lighten the load, you do not have to send me an invite. Honestly, I am just going to write down the day and time and place on a piece of paper, then throw away the invitation.
Also: “Well… when I’m not thinking about Alexander (yes, I am a mushy romantic GIRL)” VERY girly.
I figured that’s what you would do. I’ll be sure to let you know when and where it is, then.
Also: I am a girl, so I’m allowed to be girly. (Catch-22?)
And linens. Every well-run house has lots of linens.
:-)
Had to pull myself away from the napkins and tablecloths, actually. I just love a properly set table, with proper cloth napkins.
Budget is funny, isn’t it? By the way, we don’t need a paper invite, either. :-) And, if you think of anything I could possibly do to help keep Budget from being quite so frustrating, do let me know. You helped fend off its evil looks for me!
Thanks, Jenny! That’s awfully nice of you. You’ve already been extremely helpful in setting up the end of my return trip! :)
But really, Jessie’s right- the expense isn’t the paper. She knows all about that part of things (Paper Queen, Frugality Maven, Mother of Lucy… what does she not do?).
Actually- there is something you can do! We’re planning a dessert buffet and asking people to help us by making desserts (as our wedding gift). I’m having trouble thinking of desserts for them to make… so far all I’ve got is “not cake”! Any suggestions?
Budget is your friend. He keeps you from the awful prospect of Not Having Something You Really Need, or, even worse, Debt. :)
Budget is my friend. I should write that down somewhere, you know? It’s hard to remember sometimes.
Life is such an interesting mix of self-denial and fulfilled desires.
Not cake desserts…. Hmm… I shall make a preliminary list of random things I can thinks of:
Mushroom meringues
Mousse in little chocolate cups
Little tarts of various sorts!
Chocolate covered strawberries
Cream puffs
Brownies
Shortbread cookies (oooo in a pretty mold…)
Tiramisu
Truffles
Lemon merengue pie
Creme brulee
Milkshake shots
Kettle corn
Gelato :-) :-)
Crepes with Nutella
Banana bars
That’s all we have so far. Let me know which ideas you like and which not and maybe we can think of more! We like thinking about desserts. :-)
Wow! Thanks Jenny (and Joel, too)!
Now I really want some shortbread…
Speaking of registries and gifts and stuff — are you registered anywhere? What are your colors?
Yes, we are now registered at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, Wal-mart, and Target. I picked out things in jewel tones and earth tones.