Scribbles in the Dark

okay, so, pardon the geekery of the following comment, but: i was trying to think of an adequate description of how unbearably humid the weather was today, and i can only compare the sensation of stepping outside this afternon to walking through a gungan underwater force-field. the water hits you like a wall in the air, i do not lie. it was epic.

pin-up in studio tomorrow, moved up from this thursday, argh. finished two concept maps, still have data map to do; also, forgot to get reading for history from the library. going to be busy tomorrow morning. must remember not to eat lunch in history because yesterday i was scolded for doing so. grrr...

obsessed with disney's mulan at the moment, although still reading "atlas" as it updates - that being slower now, which works better with my schedule. life is full of things happening, no free time anymore, and it makes me twitchy. don't like cutting free-time out of my schedule, don't like having so many different pulls on my work-time. got in trouble in studio last week because wedding plans interfered with last project, must do make-up work on layout design before contest submission. signing photographer's contract tomorrow, appointment with florist friday morning. must remember to email lauren about hair stylist.

been sick since yesterday - sniffly and congested, leads to headachy and sleepy - and so not in the mood for working. taking robitussin. is magic medicine.

caitlin in town for the herp convention this weekend!!! very excited about that, have hardly spent time with the friends that live close by, let alone her or bri or anyone else from austin. have barely seen jim because of different schedules, despite living together. *sadface* both home right now (miracle) but am too busy to do more than enjoy his presence in the next room.

life wins, i give up. going to sleep now.

listing things...

things that are preston's that jim and i will need new of when we move out:
couch jim's parents got new ones, so, hey! look at that, free slightly-used couches.
coffee table came with the couch - yay!
kitchen table and chairs (except maybe jenny d has a set she's not using? gotta get jim to ask about that)
shower curtain bought!


things i want that i don't have (ie wedding gift registry stuff):
curtains
more kitchen towels
mirrors
bedroom chest for blankets
mixing bowls
noodle jar

wedding gift registry ideas:

jim wants:
xbox 360
kitchenaid
...and some other stuff that i can't remember

jenny wants:
new clothes!
dishes and glasses and casual silverware
tupperware
curtains
sheets
star wars movies
architecture textbooks

the nice thing about this is that people don't have to buy me christmas gifts, because my wedding is four days later!

oh god. i just spent $533 on a dress.

muahahahaha!!!! look what i found! i love it when i find ( useful things. )

ah, life. all its surprises are so... interesting.

so a couple days ago i talked to jenny durham, a friend of jim's who is also a wedding planner, and she gave me some good advice about getting started for a wedding. i explained about wanting a winter wedding, and the whole issue with december dates, and she said that it is feasible to have the wedding on new years' eve. the basic issues are these:

the dates when i want the wedding to be, dec 29-31 of '09, are right in the middle of the week, tuesday thru thursday. normally people have weekend weddings, but that's simply so that they can work around work schedules and travel, not only for themselves and their families but for all the people that they invite to the wedding. but because it's during a holiday when pretty much everyone invited will be off of work, on school break, retired, or close enough family that it's worth them taking vacation, we won't have to worry about that so much. we will have to worry about booking the place for the reception, because new years' eve parties will be going on about the same time. i wanted to have an afternoon wedding and a dinner reception anyway, but jenny pointed out that if there are parties that need to set up in the same place as the reception, we'll be hustled out early. so there's that.

she also explained that having the reception in a hotel is a really handy thing to do. since my entire family and a good portion of jim's family will be coming in from out of town, they'll need to stay in a hotel for at least a couple of nights. jenny said that most hotels with reception halls will offer a discounted rate to family coming in for a wedding reception, especially if you book multiple rooms in advance.

so what i need to do is pick a church (and pastor/officiary/priest/enabler/whatever) that will do a wedding ceremony on the afternoon of december 31st- and a church that won't look awkward with only 40 people in it, as jenny pointed out- and then find a nearby hotel with a somewhat larger reception hall open for the early (and hopefully late) evening of new years' eve, and then confirm them all.

i also need to make sure that my ring is insured, and meet the jeweler who made it- because it was custom done!!!! *amazed* it's so beautiful, i really want to thank her (him? i think her) for doing it. also because it won't fit in any standard clasp-style wedding bands, which is the kind i want: where the wedding band fits around the engagement ring like a puzzle ring. super-cool, imho. ^___^

and the last thing i've been thinking about is living arrangements for the summer and fall of '09. i finish school in may, and i have a home and a part-time retail job waiting for me in austin. but.... i want to do the PURS/SURF scholarship over the summer, which would mean that i'd need to stay in houston for at least a little while. and i want to get an internship, which is kind of hard to apply for in a city where i don't live. then, i'll have the five months and change of the fall semester of '09 before i get married in december. very few apartments off-campus offer one-semester/month-to-month leases, so i would have to get a lease for a year, basically. but then jim and i will be moving in together in december- well, technically january, i guess. so: where to live?

the only feasible option i have so far for living in houston is to bunk with jim (or another houston friend...?) over the three months of summer, and then get a lease for myself for a one-bedroom apartment until december... at which point i would get married and jim would move in with me and be on the lease with me. that sounds like a good idea to me, but i'm open to counter-arguments or alternatives. i've only just started thinking about all this.

so: thoughts? concerns? ideas? rancid fish? ....anyone?

^___^

wedding plans!!!!! omg i'm so excited. this is all i've been able to think about all day. and, y'know, some of this stuff i've already thought about and i'm just finalizing ideas, but some of it.... wow, this is so awesome.

okay, first things first: the proposal. ( this is how it happened. )

anyway, wedding plans: ( i've been thinking.... )

today's been such an emotional roller-coaster for me, though. i got so many congratulations from friends- everyone in my studio has known for weeks!!!!!- and hugs and people admiring my ring (it's beautiful), and i felt so popular and happy and excited.... but i'm struggling a lot in studio right now, too. so i would be working on drawings and getting really depressed... and then i'd see my ring on my finger and in two seconds flat i'd be grinning and happy again. i feel like i'm pregnant!!!! *rofl*

so. EXCITED.