Checking In

This has definitely been the longest stretch of blog neglect yet!  I am not even sure who my audience is anymore, which partially contributes to a lack of blogging - if I don't know who I'm writing to, how do I write?

Navigating a new life where I live only 5 minutes from AK and meanwhile getting ready to get married has taken up my time.  AK's landlord went into foreclosure last fall (unbeknownst to him for a while - he was still paying rent) and in January he was unexpectedly kicked out by the bank.  The original plan was that he would keep living there until May or June, we'd find a cute rental house that he would live in until I joined him there after we were married.  We ended up not finding a cute rental house and instead found a rental apartment very close to where I am currently renting.  It's not ideal financially right now (but will be awesome financially come August!) but it sure is nice to be so close to each other.  We see each other almost every day now, eating our meals together, going to the gym together, and just hanging out with no time limits - things we've never really done before.  Imagine that!  What a luxury.  I am learning how to manage my life while sharing it with someone else - sometimes I just need to take a "maintenance day" to catch up on my household management (laundry, paying bills, baking and meal planning, cleaning, etc.), which is what today has been since AK is out of town.  Isn't it funny how he needs me around to get his household management done, but I need significant time by myself to clear my  head and focus?  So these are things we will learn to navigate.

Looking back to a year ago, I can see what a change has come about.  My new job is so much less stressful; I had 2 weeks back in January/February that were absolutely miserable - working from 6am to midnight with only short breaks to grab food from the kitchen - but once it was over, it was over.  Last spring, I felt like every week I was working overtime and never had the end in sight, right up until I left.  So my work-life balance is really terrific now.

I've been using my extra personal life time to do some sewing... I know that sounds weird, but I just felt like I needed a non-wedding creative outlet.  I've been working on a duffle bag of sorts that should be finished this weekend, and I will start sewing curtains for Andrew's/our bedroom next.  There are a few little wedding creative projects on the side, too.

Wedding planning has been overwhelming from the start - I can't imagine being engaged for longer than the 9 months of our engagement.  There are so many decisions to make.  I've come to believe that wedding magazines and blogs are really just advertising outlets (no surprise, really: I stopped subscribing to women's magazines several years ago after realizing my habit of impulse-buying cosmetics and hair products was a result of being marketed to!).  And top it off with feeling like I am getting ripped-off by every possible vendor just because it's a wedding.  I'm very fortunate that by far most of this event is not being funded by me (thank you, parents!) but the money is under my management, and I want to be a good steward of it.  If you read this blog, you know how much I stress out about spending money (especially when I could instead be using it to pay off school debt), so bleeding money like this in such a short period of time is just a tough internal battle for me.

The wedding magazines and blogs also make decision-making so much harder.  Do I want it this way, or do I want to explore more options (which I know from the blogs are definitely out there!)?  Should I get a vendor to do it, or should I try to DIY?  It's great to see so many different options, but I've always found that it is easier to make a decision when I limit my options.  Dress shopping (which I dreaded!) was such a good thing - I picked a place that had only one designer, whose dresses I knew were in my price range - tried on a few dresses, narrowed it down to two, and picked the one I liked best.  Sometimes limits are a good thing!

I will say, it has been a real treat watching the RSVP's roll in.  And we have wedding gifts already!  What a blessing to have such support from our network of family and friends.

We're really excited for our wedding ... but we are more ready to get past the "THE Wedding" aspect (all of the planning and money!) and just say our vows, see all of our favorite people, and get on with starting our new life together.  That's the point, after all, isn't it?

So this has been my life, and probably will continue to be up until June or so.  After that, life gets crazy busy - other good friends getting married, a new baby joining my social circle, and lots and lots of travel (honeymoon, family vacations, holidays, weddings, weekend visits).  We were hoping to get a Goldendoodle this fall but after we looked at our calendars we realized we may be out of town too much; so if we can't keep our schedules open for a significant amount of time we are looking at a February or March 2013 expansion to our new family.  What a long wait that will be!

I will try to update the blog if something extraordinary occurs that's worth writing about - but I make no promises!

P.S.  The onion goggles from the last post were a Christmas gift.  I look like Amelia Earhart wearing them, but they really do work!