The Sun

Weather has continued to improve and it looks like we'll see the sun for the next 2 days. I also think I'm over the worst of the stress and metaphorically heading back to sunshine. 

It wasn't pretty for a minute. The morning ended in a shocking confrontation at Whole Foods. A woman went crazy on me, I actually thought I was getting punked -- such a long story, but I didn't do anything. She walked up to me and said she was going to go ahead of me in line. I had 5 things in my cart and she had an overflowing cart -- I said no. She kept at me, yelling, calling me names, pushing her cart into mine and then I verbally lost it on her. Called her names, was sarcastic and mean. "Leave me the $%#$ alone." "You are a crazy @$%@#$." Not my best moment. I will say, she was horrible and entitled and relentlessly aggressive, but that was no FS moment for me. Geez.

Then the sun came out. 

Run was strong -- even in the wind. Earrings arrived from amazon and both are an option. Phew. Early check-in secured at hotel. Phew. Welcome bags delivered and the first one was already opened (and appreciated for the personal touch). Started a fun text group with my original wedding party for weekend details, fielded tons of family questions. Dogs at sitter. Packed.

Unfortunately, I slept like crap again. My temperature is up and that seems to be hormones. My body is trying to get a period. Woke up stupidly early -- but good timing because I had to field a call BEFORE 5am from Publix bakery about the pastry tray. I answered the call because it was local -- but I was very suspicious lol. All worked out and I'm glad they troubleshot it now and not at pickup time. 

I think today will be JOY forward. I'm going to work hard to remember to see the happy stuff, connection, celebration, fun.

Now that I have earrings in gold-toned -- shoes can stay and I can wear this vintage bracelet I got in Asheville a year ago. I saw it and bought it to wear at the wedding. It's probably not a look everyone will like, but I like it a lot. Checks so many boxes for me.

On one last note, I asked people attending rehearsal dinner to give me one word to describe our couple. The only one I hadn't received was from the bride's mother, but no names attached to the words so I wasn't going to follow up, didn't matter. People chose beautiful words. She texted yesterday -- "compatible." Really, that's the word you chose as the mother? Made me laugh. It was, by far, the most pragmatic word on the list. She's a tough cookie. 

I thought about this little story because we are so different. She'll be in FULL glam. She even reserved a bridal suite for herself so she has a dressing room for her gown. She'll hate my simple, vintage look. There would've been a time when that would make me feel insecure. Not anymore and not in any way. I like this part of getting older. Also, she'll look amazing and arguably more appropriate for a glamorous, formal wedding. I will look like myself and that's the look I wear best these days. We are different -- neither good or bad, but it's been an interesting experience doing "wedding" with her. And it's nice to feel like we both get to show up honestly -- embracing different, instead of pretending.

I'll be back after the wedding. Pictures, details, all-the-things. Probably stressed about the house closing, so there's that -- do I really change lol?!?

Later gators.

Oh Lordy -- Just Breathe

It's here and I'm up to my eyeballs in last minute EVERYTHING. I'm prepared, organized, and yet, SO MUCH to do.

My sleep is crap. My stress is flying (but I'm doing well on my jaw clenching). 

I'm in danger of not enjoying enough because I'm ten steps ahead in my mind and panicking about it. Maybe once we get to the venue things will calm down for me. Hopefully this is just the lead up crazy. I'm concerned about having time and a place to get ready tomorrow. Check in is at 4 o'clock (hoping for an earlier time, but no guarantees). Rehearsal is at 4:30. We leave at 4:45 to drive over to the restaurant for setup. Tight timing. 

Here are some updates:

No offer from the 2nd showing. Can't fit the piano in the way they want.

New house closing moved back 2 weeks. 

Earrings arrived -- yea. Just what I wanted AND THEN ... totally allergic to them. Instant pain and red all the way up my earlobes. I cleaned them, tried them again and NOPE. I have 2 pairs arriving (fingers crossed) from amazon today. My dress MUST have significant earrings. I can pivot to white-toned options, but my shoes have gold accents. Bracelets didn't arrive -- lost in transit. I have NO time to find new earrings today. How can I be at this point and still not have my "look" decided? This complicates packing -- thankfully, we're driving so everything can get thrown in the car -- shoes, jewelry, purse, hair accessories all hinging on damn earrings.

I practiced the toast and it's fine -- phew. I practiced the dance and it's also fine, but horrible moves on my part lol. I know enough to participate. It'll be fun though.

Picked up cookies and they are FANTASTIC. They give an extra couple when you order a big lot because there's extra dough. Hubby sampled and said he forgot how delicious they are -- YES!! They aren't GF so I steered clear for now. I forgot to take pictures. I ordered 2 options for the rehearsal (his/hers) and some individual cookies for welcome bags. Happy Retirement, Happy 60th birthday, Candy Corn (my sister since she doesn't like chocolate). This is a good win. 

I got these little elevated cutting boards from Ikea. I saw a reel about ways to use them (I'm a sucker). Of course, food and food display, but also plant stand, book stand. Only $20 each so I got 2 and they are great.

You get the idea.

Perfect!

The wind storm is almost over -- nothing horrible but it's still very windy. I feel for those flying today. I want to run this morning to help with stress, but timing is an issue and I hate the wind. I need to get to Trader Joe's when it opens to buy flowers. If I can manage, I'll go to the park to run in the wind. Then drive to mid-town to drop welcome bags. Then drop dogs at sitters. Then pack. Then not-sleep ahead of the long, long day tomorrow.

Eeek. I need to calm down. Slow down. Breathe. It'll all work out, or not, but the wedding weekend will happen. 

And, most importantly, I need to ENJOY this weekend. Where I sit right now, the feeling is just-get-it-over and that isn't what I want. It will be a huge missed opportunity if I don't embrace all the good and all the chaos that is a wedding. Meditation this morning will be a calling to FS to take over. She knows how to handle this stuff, maybe. 

Okay. Have a good day. Later gators.

"Last Day" Before ...

I consider this the "last day" before wedding weekend. Thursday is all day wedding, including dropping welcome bags as the venue so I'll be in mid-town for a chunk of the day. We'll head in early on Friday for the festivities.

What a day yesterday. 

Broker open house yielded NOT EVEN ONE broker visit; however, we did get a showing during that time AND they came back later in the day to look again. 45 minutes in the house. I was already in jammies, on the sofa, eating early dinner. Changed my mind on cooking the asparagus -- dodged that smelly moment. No feedback yet. The hang up is room for a baby grand piano in the main area.

The inspection, which I insisted on instead of the builder signing off that it was okay, found a MAJOR safety issue with something left unhooked. The result would be a build up of carbon monoxide when the heat was running. The heat hasn't been on because the house is still under construction. We have detectors, but that was a good find and a relief to know it's okay now. Trust AND verify. 

I got a looky-loo into the house again and found more options for plant placement-- that made me happy. The itty bitty yard is fully fenced now and there are nice areas for a garden. The only outstanding question is the irrigation and that SHOULD be fine because there's an open line in the system.

I didn't get to everything on the wedding list yesterday because of the long 2nd showing (always worth it though). I was so stinking tired when I got home. The kind of tired where I'm cold and feeling like I might get sick. My oura ring says my period today -- I think it's accurate, but my body doesn't actually get a period every time my temp, HR, etc change. I decided I needed to eat -- fill my belly kind of eating. Nothing bad, but I had protein and rice and veggies and fruit until I was nicely full -- right before bed. 

That can have mixed results for sleep and recovery, but usually when I eat a lot at night it's junk food. The full belly helped and I got a good night's sleep and feel better this morning. We are headed into crazy days and I needed rest ahead of long stretches of being "on."

On another note, I showed up well for myself yesterday. Spoke up, took care of what I needed, added a little fun, worked on some plans post-wedding. 

Looks like neither jewelry from ETSY is arriving on-time. One is taking forever and the other appears lost. Both were set to arrive in mid-february. Bummer. Will I ever even wear them again? The lost order is being resent, but it won't be here in time. 

We're having a wind storm today -- same system making its way across the country. No rain, but big wind. Hopefully, no issues with power. 

My only errand is a cookie pickup mid-day. I'm packing (from my list yesterday), practicing toast and dance, and a few other misc things. 

I finished the book -- sweet and short and I loved it. Picking a new book tonight. Slowly coming back to reading enjoyment. 

Also, my grandson started walking with assist from a toy, but first time not holding onto people. It's so cute. I wish I could share the video, but bots -- he has a huge fall apparatus strapped to his back to prevent his head hitting if he falls. Every generation gets new gadgets and I like safety first. He has the biggest smile -- totally proud of himself. 

It's a good week so far. It's only Wednesday, but feels like I've lived a couple of weeks. Hope you have a good one. Later gators.

Still Wedding Week ...

Wedding week continues. 

I practiced wearing the boots for the rehearsal dinner which are actually a bit higher than the wedding heels and they're rough. I added relief pads on the inside and scuffed the outside and I think I'll be okay now. Look at me being a girly-girl and choosing fashion over comfort. Probably the only 2 nights of the rest of my life hah!!

Toast/speech is written and just needs to be practiced a few times every day and I'll be set. Hubby liked it. 

I'll dance in my shoes today -- see the steps a little more and get one of the moves down that I can't seem to figure out which leg does what.

The earrings are in Atlanta -- can they make it here by Thursday? It's tight. The update says it left the Atlanta distribution center so maybe. I have a feeling they will arrive Friday after we leave for mid-town. 

I'm sleeping like CRAP and I had a realization this morning -- too much caffeine in the afternoon kombuchas. I've been drinking a couple extra the last week and I bet that's the issue. Dang and double dang. Testing the theory today and going cold turkey. I wake up and have the worst time falling back to sleep. My mind races and that's a problem, but the wakeup is probably from the caffeine. 

On a positive note -- it seems like I'm turning a fitness corner which I couldn't get around since my back injury. Both cardio and strength. I'm excited to keep going. 

I planted a modified spring garden. Why not. The house hasn't sold so I'll see if I get any yield. I didn't do any enrichment to the soil because of the move, but it's probably okay. If things start growing, I'll add a bit of food in that area.

I finished this book and the ending was WHAT, wow?!?! Author did a great job of keeping it a surprise, but when revealed, it was set up nicely along the entire story. Creepy, odd, weird, horror, thought-provoking, and stuck the ending. And when I say ending -- I mean the final 2 sentences. It's a good "something different" book and worth it for the clever finish.

I started this little book from the library. Its's a book in translation from Japan. It's darling so far - absolutely love it. It's almost a novella length. Perfect reading this week, but I'll probably finish it today.

We have a broker open house and an inspection at the new house today. Both will eat up most of the day, but I'll still have time to practice the toast and dance and organize a few things ahead of packing.

My elderly and quite frail uncle has the flu so he and my aunt aren't coming to the wedding. Hopefully, everyone else stays healthy. I know this will stress the kids when they find out today, but it is what it is. Any changes are really hitting them -- sounds a little like me when I'm stressed. Believe me, it's better than him being sick at the wedding and them getting sick for their honeymoon. 

That's the wedding update today. Hope you have a good one. Later gators.

It's Wedding Week

I finished a lot yesterday and, phew, because it was weighing on me. Try as I might, though, I don't have enough time to hike today. I'm setting myself up for overdoing if I take the better part of the day for a hike. I actually thought about going very early, but it's cold -- significantly below freezing early this morning so that ended that idea. An outside run will give me enough of what I need without a big time commitment. 

What's left today ... 

I need to finish a mock write up of the toast and practice since I won't be reading it. It's almost finished. I have final confirmations -- 7 total. That's a lot of phone calls that need to happen during business hours. I want to pack up jewelry options -- I don't think the earrings will arrive in time so I'm bringing a selection that will hinge on the hair jewelry choice. Game day decision.

Outside of wedding stuff, I need to clean for the broker open house tomorrow. Whole Foods run because I have no food. Afternoon garden planting because I think today was the last frost of the season (or enough that I can cover if I need to and I won't have time later this week).

Welcome bags are mostly finished -- waiting on cookies from the bakery on Wednesday for a few of the bags. I didn't so much as look sideways at the chocolate. That's a relief. As I said, no sugar coma ahead of a big week or I'd be in energy trouble.

I finalized my outfit for the rehearsal dinner too. It's smart casual and I wanted to be a little more trendy. I ran options by my fashion friend and she agreed on the boots. Yea. It feels fun and feels like FS me. This is the dress I switched to for my older son's wedding after it changed during the pandemic.

Fine, but nothing special.

Winner!

I tried on the dress for the wedding for the last time before Saturday. The zipper is tricky and the illusion lace supports a heavy dress so I don't want to keep putting it on and off. 

Truth is ... I don't love, love it. I don't hate it, but it's probably not what I'd choose again. It's the original dress for my older son's wedding that got lost in a NY port during the pandemic. It's the cap sleeves that throw it off for me -- not flattering. I wonder if I needed big statement earrings to balance the look but that's not my style at all. Hopefully with hair and makeup it'll feel more balanced. I paid more for this dress and alterations (it had a train) than any other outfit (even MY wedding dress). It didn't make sense to get something else.

Backup shoe choice

Winner!

What's funny to me is my favorite part of both outfits are the shoes. I'm a sensible shoe wearer and shoes are just an after thought for an outfit and comfort-forward. I'm having fun playing around with more fashion-forward choices. Of course, shoes have come a long way and many are more comfortable than they used to be -- these are fine on my feet (as fine as non-sneakers can be). I'll have sneakers on until go-time because I'm not pressing the comfort factor for 2 days in a row.

Three more days until fully immersed in the wedding weekend. I'm relaxing on certain things and starting new worries about what can go wrong. Geez. I need to calm that storm -- at a certain point, what will happen, will happen. I have backup plans for a few things that might be hiccups and I need to let the rest go. Why can't this voice of reason speak up when I wake up in the middle of the night?!?

Off to write a toast. Have a good Monday. Later gators.

Not So Much a Sunday Fun-Day

I must be having a hormone change -- my body temperature is elevated (not a fever though), my stats are low, and I feel rundown. It's either hormones or the "everything" of it all has caught up to me. 

Yesterday was fun. We played at a playground, had a good lunch, walked by the new house. The fence was being installed and they made progress on the basement -- finally. Both were delayed because of medical issues with the foremen from the crews. Okay, that's understandable -- moving forward is exciting.

I picked up plants and seeds from the farm and am a little bummed. I want a garden!!!! I'm going to plant what I got this week in the garden here. The house hasn't sold, so maybe I'll be able to enjoy a spring garden remotely. BTW -- looks like I'll have great sun for the new garden next year. Delayed happy, but good.

My snack yesterday and it looked cute. Little turkey vintage salt container. The green hobnob dish was my Granny's. Every bit about this makes me happy.

When we looked at the house yesterday, I gave my DIL a full tour (she's only seen the main level). It was a sunny afternoon -- maybe the first sunny day I've seen the inside of the house. I think I found a place for my indoor plants. There's a large landing on the second floor that should get enough sun. The back of the house where most of the windows are gets full shade -- great for us, less great for plants. The front of the house has very few windows that can take plants (same with the sides) because of covered porches and such. Hard to explain -- I can put a few plants here and there, but the bulk of 50 plants needs a place to go. The sunniest rooms are spare rooms and hubby's office and that won't work.

To say I have a lot to do today is an understatement. I was too tired to accomplish much yesterday when I got home. Head down, work mode today. Getting this bulk off my to-do list will be a HUGE help in the stress front. It's well worth working all day on it. And it's not all crappy work -- some will be fun. 

Also, I decided I'm putting too much effort into some of the welcome bag notes. Write a few sentences and be done. Why I thought I needed to review 40 years of friendship in a notecard is beyond me. 

I'm opening the candy to bag for the welcome bags -- I waited so nothing went stale. I'm doing this early morning because, damn, I'll want that chocolate tonight (hormones). My rule today is a STRICK not-even-one-piece because I know myself. I can't afford to fall into a chocolate coma this week as delightful as that sounds thinking about that escape. 

I planned an only-hike-this-week tomorrow. I might need to change that to a run at the park. I don't know if I can take that much time to hike. I'll see where I land today. I'd love to hike, but I also need to be realistic with my time and energy this week.

That's all from here. Time to get moving on that early morning chocolate bagging -- the only time of day when it's unappealing to me lol. Later gators.

Time in Our New Town

I hiked, even tired -- managed the full miles. I'm still trying to up my miles for the longer club hikes. My monster hemorrhoid reared her head a little, but not horrible this morning. The weather was amazing and I explored the trails a bit more to understand how they connect. There are a few parks I feel comfortable hiking solo now. 

Both ends are healing. My jaw feels pretty good -- I can chew much better and my teeth are lining up again. The hemorrhoid is smaller and entering the itching phase which is a good sign.

We had a showing that was an hour late yesterday - ugh, but we took the dogs to the park and walked around our new town for a couple of hours. They were only at the house 15 minutes so it seems unlikely that they're interested. 

Back again today to see our grandson at a playground and an al fresco lunch -- wedding isolation protocol lol. It's fun getting to know our area in a little more detail. The house was supposed to have some big stuff finished by yesterday. We checked it out last evening. Spoiler alert, not even started. I can't see how we're going to be able to close next week. It's getting a bit frustrating, although the longer we hold off closing, the better $$ for us. The builder is out of town at a funeral until mid-week. 

I started a new book. It's horror adjacent -- guy goes for a hike and ends up in another dimension. The ending is supposed to be WOW. I'm also getting close on a couple more library holds. Reading is still a bit off for me right now which is disappointing because I have a really good mix on my TBR. 

Today has a good plan. Grandson time, picking up garden plants (I already joined before we planned the move), wedding welcome bags. I'll plant the plants and then work on transferring them to pots for the new house, but that's a project for after the wedding.

Hope you have a good day. Later gators.