Married in a hurry! reprise and Sinus infections make the best gifts!

So, Friday the Thirteenth lived up to its expectations. These are the episodes of bad luck that I know of, there may have been more-

There was a snow storm. I spent the morning cooking salmon for my vegetarian(ish) mother-in-law. The friend who was doing my hair was two hours late getting to Cheyenne. Before coming to my house, he and my maid-of-honor/witness went to Walgreen's to grab some pantyhose, where his car died. A couple of hours later, they got to my house, where my hair and the ribbons braided in it decided not to cooperate.

When it was time to go, nobody knew directions to the Masonic Temple. On the way, my middle brother got rear-ended by somebody who apparently doesn't drive in snow too often, and had a hole punched in his oil pan. (He handled it admirably, though, and escaped unscathed!) When everybody got the temple, we were all so disorganized that really none of the stuff I had brought for the reception was brought downstairs and set up.

When it was time for me to prettify, I realized that I'd left some of my makeup in some of the bags that had stuff for the reception. I made do with the makeup we had on hand, and got ready. I told the judge that nobody was giving me away, but I was so nervous that I had my youngest brother walk me up at the very last minute. Brian visibly swooned when he saw me, which I actually think is really cute.

When we got to the reception, I realized that I'd also forgotten Brian's laptop, so we didn't have any music. While my mother was making a toast, she leveled a glare at my step-father that could have frozen the blood in a lesser person's veins. There was an awful lot of confusion as to who was doing what, but we still made it though.

We were worried we wouldn't be able to make it to Fort Collins for the honeymoon, since the interstate was closed for a bit, but it opened back up before the reception ended. We still had to run back to our apartment to grab overnight stuff, and we actually did forget to refrigerate some of our delicious food! On the drive down to Fo Co, the horrible weather lasted until the Wyoming/Colorado border, which surprised me very little.

Upon our arrival at the hotel, we couldn't find parking closer than a block away, so I took a short walk in my tennis shoes and my wedding dress. Brian had ordered this lovely little Romance package, that came complete with truffles and rose petals and breakfast in bed in the morning. It was all very lovely, except for the part where it got set up in someone else's room! (Isn't that just a hilarious mental image, though? A single guy walks into his room and finds rose petals and chocolate everywhere!) After relocation to a larger suite to make up for the mix-up, Brian and I had some quality kinky dungeon time, after which we both passed the hell out. Later that night, to put the metaphorical cherry on top, I woke up congested and coughing with the mother of all sore throats.

I'm fairly certain I never put 'sinus infection' on any gift registry. More importantly, I'm kind of proud that I didn't turn into Bridezilla (RAWR!) and flop down crying about how I wanted everything to be perfect. In fact, despite all the accidents and misadventures and fluid cursing, I would do it all again.

They say a picture's worth a thousand words. What does this one tell you?

Would-have-been BFF?

So, I hated school. I realize that I am, by no means, unique in that fact, but hear me out. I was the person that the entire school though was a freak and generally wished death upon. The girls in the volleyball team spit in my sandwich on one occasion. (Of course, I didn't find out until after lunch.) I got hit in the head with a ten-pound weight. There was one girl who punched me and then skipped town for the next three days. The next time I saw her mother's car, it had a bumper sticker that said "My kid beat up your honor student."

I'd generally come to terms with all this crap, and was moving on, until yesterday. I met with a girl who I'd known in school to work on make-up for the wedding. She's a Mary Kay salesperson, not to mention very lovely in her own right, and she's always been sweet to me. In fact, I can't remember her saying anything mean to or about anybody, in the nine years I went to school with her. The minute she heard about my wedding she called me to give her congratulations. It made me feel so warm and fuzzy to hear the genuine warmth in her voice.

So, I ended up coming over to her house and going over makeup with her, and we began to talk about high school. I never realized until that moment how horrible it might have been for someone else. Turns out, I wasn't the only one that was harassed and miserable. Girls that I could have sworn she'd been friends with had been treating her like dirt. Care to know why?

Jealousy. Envy. The green monster.


This girl is slender and willowy, with shining auburn hair, large eyes framed by long lashes, and a dazzling smile. She's a smart cookie, and a darn talented athlete as well. She plays a good clarinet and sings a steady alto. I was jealous of her for years, in fact. But to hear that other girls took their jealousy so far as to physically and verbally abuse her makes me sick. I had pretty much forgotten how selfish I thought these people were, and how much I couldn't stand them. Now I remember, much more vividly, how much I wanted bad things to happen to them.

And this girl, who suffered their slings and arrows with a smile all those years, is now happily married. She is gorgeous, inside and out, she has a sweet husband who takes care of her, and she has the happy life she has long deserved.

She is a model for who I want to become. Happy, taking care of myself, my husband, and my home, and not letting stupidity and jealousy bar my way.

I think I'd like to be better friends with her, too.

The Eagle and the Apple

Beat Assassin's Creed last night.


During one of the scenes where I was grappling with twenty or so pissed off Templars, I composed a haiku.

God's soldiers falling
Drops of blood spread on the streets
Red like autumn leaves

Next is an ode to Prince of Persia in iambic pentameter.

Married in a hurry!

So, three weeks ago, my youngest brother called me on one of my days off. He joined the SeaBees* this summer, so it's been some time since we've seen each other. He went off to boot camp in Chicago between June and September, and then spent several months in California doing some advanced training. Now he's stationed in Virginia.

This is what he said.
"So... I'm getting deployed next year, and I won't be able to take any leave after mid-February. You and Brian wanna get married while I'm up there?"

This is what I said.
"Sure!"

Little did I know what I was promising. I didn't know how much was involved in planning a wedding. You have to figure out the venue for the ceremony and the reception, what food is going to be served at the reception, who's coming, how everything will be decorated, music, gifts and registries, the list goes on. You have to reserve places, people, and times, making appointments for consultations, do all the legal paperwork, etc.

My only regret is, what with us being poor students right now, my wedding will not be as large as I would prefer. In a few years we'll be having a nice big vow renewal, where I can invite everyone I want. For now, though, we're sticking to twenty people. That's already more than enough planning, anyway!

Funny thing is... It's all going to be worth it. I feel so happy, so certain of my place in the world and the promise of future prosperity.


I still, however, fear that I will suffer a bad hair day.

*SeaBees- A division of the Navy devoted to the construction and maintenance of buildings and vehicles. Their motto is "Construimus, Batuimus" – translated into English as "We Build, We Fight." and they are classified as special warfare. Founded during World War II, the SeaBees contributed heavily to the landing on Normandy Beach, and have been kicking ass ever since.