and we're off...

We're on our way to Nova Scotia for our honeymoon, friends! see you in about a week!

photo here

friday!!!

it's friday! only hours to go!!
i can't believe our friends and family have already started trickling into town! who cares if it rains?

i won't be posting tomorrow, and maybe not until after our honeymoon but please keep us in your prayers!

correction.

oh, did i say 50% chance of rain? apparently i meant 70%....

under my umbrella, ella, ella, eh eh eh...

guys, it might just rain. 50% chance on saturday.

the good news is that we have a backup plan for our outside garden ceremony should it pour buckets and buckets come 6 o'clock...

we're going to stand on the staircase inside the house, give everyone a glass of champagne, and have them gather around and stand in the foyer while we say our vows.

the crazy thing is that i feel really good about it... (and am actually kind of excited for the possibility) but still hope that the weather was as cool and pretty as it was today.

rain or shine, though, boone and i will be married!! :)

photo here

final product: favors

instead of blogging, THIS is what i've been doing with my time:

well, this and a ZILLION other things. (public service announement: friends, don't wait until the last minute to make your programs. seriously. don't do it. even if you have as wonderful a friend i as do who designed them and lets you call her all hours of the night for several days while she formats everything to your exact specifications, things will still go awry. the copy machine will DEFINITELY break down and you won't be able to find heavy weight legal size paper anywhere in the tri-state area and you'll end up wanting to tear your hair out.) But this post isn't about programs.

it's about the favors.... teeny weeny homemade pralines.

we stamped the bags and made the itty bitty parchment paper inserts in plenty of time, but when the day we'd set aside to make the pralines was too humid, a friend and neighbor (and culinary expert) jumped in and made them for us. she is a saint and i am forever in her debt.

anyway, i'm beyond pleased with the way they came out and am amazed and touched by people's generosity and kindness this week. i am incredibly blessed with wonderful family and friends.

counting down...

5 days! 5 days!!!

secret adventure answer

it was a crawfish boil and anvil shoot! read about what they are here.
welcome to the 'sip, boone!

secret adventure...

so boone comes to the 'sip ON THURSDAY!!!! i can hardly stand it... i'm not sure if he knows what he's in for because these wedding planning days are almost as long and hard as teach for america institute.

ok, not as hard as institute, but still i definitely feel like i'm living the first few scenes of steel magnolias over and over again... you know, the scene when the dad is shooting crows out of the trees?

ANYWAY, when boone gets here, my dad and i are taking him on a surprise adventure. i've been texting him clues about it to help him guess. can you figure it out?

clue 1: wiley coyote

clue 2: it's kind of redneck

clue 3: "it dates back to the civil war" -gene mulloy

clue 4: reorganize the letters to spell "in a shovel tooth"

clue 5: what is happening in this photo?


pretty lame clues, but if you can guess before he does i'll give you eternal respect.

photo from flickr and google.

thanks, mom...

If there was a competition for the best mom ever, my mom would win. sorry, friends... she's the best.... hands down.
maybe we've gotten into it a few times during this whole process, but now that I'm in mississippi and am with her every step of the way, i can completely understand why she wis on pins and needles every time we talked. guys, this is HARD work.
But beyond the few little spats we had, let me just tell you what my mom's done to make the day extra special:

-she made 200 miniature apple pies BY HAND for boone's "groom's cake"
-she hand calligraphied 200 invitations herself. (i know!)
-for our wedding gift she's giving us a handmade quaker wedding certificate that SHE wrote.
-she's taken care of most of the big planning things so that I could focus on my coursework. This may be the best gift of all.

and she does so much more. see? my mom wins, mostly because she does these sorts of things all the time. she's around when i need her, she has helped me pack up and move my apartment more times than i can count, she takes care of other people who are sad or sick, she forgives and forgives and forgives, and she loves... so much. i am so thankful to have her and hope that one day i'm HALF the mom she is.

photo from storypeople

risky...

isn't this lovely? and perfect for those of us who may need a mantra to calm nerves up until the big day...

talking out loud...

we're at a standstill. both of us feel strongly that we have to live our convictions out... and one of our major convictions is that marriage is a religious ceremony binding a couple to each other and God. the other conviction is that being legally united in the eyes of the state is a right that every couple should have.

so, the marriage ceremony is absolutely, definitely happening. but, we can't seem to come to a conclusion about whether or not we should sign the marriage license. i mean, if we believe that all people should be afforded these rights, then can we (in good conscience) take advantage of rights other people are excluded from having? isn't that like eating at a lunch counter where some people are barred from being served?

but then again, is standing in solidarity really that helpful? one lesbian lady friend of mine offered as a counter example, "Biz, you wouldn't forgo a great education just because other people don't get them, would you? no. that wouldn't do anyone any good. you'd get your great education and then fight so that everyone else can have one too."

but i don't know that this is the same... anyway, no decisions yet. just a lot of conversation.

time is ticking...

well friends, i'm off to the 'sip until the big day! it's getting real now...

also, fyi, my conversation abilities have taken a turn for the worse. apparently with only 20 days to go until the wedding and having only just finished three big school projects i can only talk about ceremony programs, bride shoes, Buddhist sociopolitical power in Burma, or service-learning.

i know.

anyway, i'm pretty sure right now no one wants to hear about the processional music or what they should wear to the brunch the day of, but if they make the mistake of asking, well, i just can't be held responsible. (friends, consider this your warning).

i hate that i'm consumed with minutia, but also, i have to confess that i'm secretly excited to get to go play with my mom and make all the out of town giftbags, find a dress for the brunch, make my maids' gifts, etc.

the excitement i feel is nothing like the excitement of knowing that in 20 days that boone will be officially, truly, absolutely mine... but still. it's pretty fun.

what is NOT fun is that boone is staying in ATL until the 14th. this will be hard, but knowing that the next time i see him will be only a week away from our wedding makes it bearable.

well dears, keep checking back. we got fast internet at my folks' house so i'll try to post faily regularly.

also, happy summer to you (or happy summer in advance!)

anyone know where i got this picture?