All photos are shared copyright, credit to Mary Stephenson/ Acorns Graphics

All photos are shared copyright, credit to Mary Stephenson/ Acorns Graphics

Perfect day?

Yep. It was a perfect day. All photos are shared copyright, credit to Mary Stephenson/ Acorns Graphics.

FINALLY!

I get our wedding pictures.  J  You only get one.  Tomorrow (ha!  Fooled you!  You got all excited and then… POOF.  Nothing.  That’ll teach you to go and get your hopes up.).  I get all of them today after work – I’m meeting with our photographer to pick up our albums and digital proofs.  The best part about all of this is that we can cheaply make our own prints, post them online for family and friends, and not have to worry about negatives or paper proofs fading.  Though I’ll probably make backup copies of our discs and keep them in the safety deposit box… just in case.

 

We now have a guest room with a guest bed set up.  Steve calculated that my immediate family (including my in town sister) could stay over and everyone would have a bed, including us.  You know, if we WANTED them to stay over.  I pointed out that if my entire family decided to come visit and sleep at our house, that I probably would book he and I a hotel room.  I love my family, but I need SPACE.  Luckily, they understand this… and they get hotel rooms.  Or stay at my sister’s condo…because she’s single and doesn’t have a husband to sit on top of when my parents visit.  Though the idea of a one night splurge on a hot tub suite is a good one to file away for the next time they visit.  For us, not my parents.

 

Work has a lunch’n’learn series where they bring in local community college instructors for language classes.  French I class starts today.  YippEEE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

old married lady stuff

I bought a new piece for my next ceramics project.  It is BIG.  About a foot high, three mushrooms and three frogs, so it will probably take me til the end of summer to finish it.  I love it though.  The ironic thing is that it came from a (and I’m quoting my ceramics teacher) “dead old lady.”  Seriously.  So it was only $6 – for a piece that size it was a BARGAIN.  I will probably kick myself for choosing it, because the last time someone picked such a big piece, it took them WELL PAST the holiday for which the piece was to be decoration.  Hopefully that won’t happen, although it may mean taking it home a few times to touch up spots.

 

We have officially moved all MY stuff into OUR house.  Now I just need to get the stuff we are donating out to the garage and into the driveway for Salvation Army to pick up on Monday.  Then I can finish re-doing the GIGANTIC cabinet we took from Grandma’s house for our kitchen storage.  It was a major score, but has also turned into a major project.  One that I haven’t had much time for lately, but would like to finish this weekend if I can get the garage into a semblance of neatness/cleared out so I don’t get pain all over everything.  God bless my dad for teaching me some basic woodworking/refinishing skills – this will save us a whole bunch of money to refinish a piece, rather than buying new.  And it will have some meaning, which is a bonus.

 

I just wish I wasn’t tripping over all our stuff on my way out the door in the morning – it would make the day start out so much brighter!

migraines suck

Up til 2 AM… in shower, naked, with cold… then hot…water running down over my head and back.  Leaning over the edge of the tub to PROJECTILE vomit into the toilet.  Crying for my husband to hold back my hair.  Then two gel ibuprofens, a little water, and a cold pack on top of a towel over my head and eyes.  Finally fall asleep, then get up at 6:50 AM to drive sis to work from the service shop.

 

After that kind of a night/morning… almost anything could happen, and today would still be a good day.

 

every little girl's dream...

…is for her blog to be just like this.  Having extra time now that the EVENT is over, and I don’t need to be obsessively planning, I have begun obsessively blogreading again.  (Is that a word?  If not, it should be.  I declare it so.  *PING of NEW WORD*)

 

I mean, seriously, can you be a cooler person?  Loving, awesome mom and awesome person in the same body – this is what every girl in my generation swears/hopes/dreams she will be when she is a mom, instead of a version of her own mother.

 

I say this with the full knowledge and understanding (because marriage brings such wisdom of the female condition and what it is to be a “woman”… nota bene the sarcasm…) that my own mom is a loving, awesome mom and awesome person in the same body, but from an older generation than Maggie.  If my mom’s generation had blogs, I like to imagine hers would have been similar to Maggie’s.  Except with references to the drabness that is NE Ohio in the winter and the glory of Ohio in spring, not the always superior moments of San Francisco.

 

 

would you help an indie out?

HELP OUT OVAL OPUS!

Dear Friends,

Thank you to everyone for your continued support of Oval Opus in the “Myth Farewell Tour - Battle of the Bands” contest. Oval Opus is in the running to be the headliner thanks to all of your efforts.

We are now asking for your help more than ever as we make the final push towards victory. There are only 9 days left... please see how you can help below.

The band members have always been advocates of goodwill within our community. In particular, they have supported the Dubunkify mission of raising awareness about the hazards of using tobacco products. The winner of the contest will perform on July 14th on the campus of Ohio State University.

You can vote every 24 hours, so please find the time to support a great band that supports a great cause and serves as a positive role model in today’s society.

How can you help?

1. Vote-vote-vote!!! Vote here every day. 

2. Re-post this or a similar bulletin on your MySpace account.

3. Forward this message to everyone you know!

4. Add Oval Opus to your top 8 friends list.

5. Come see Oval Opus perform on July 14th (with your help).

Results will be announced on June 26th. Good luck to all participating bands!

 

Excuse for a Party: No. 137

This is a pretty cool idea. I heard about this via Universe Today. It was posted on the Scientific American Blog: 66 beer bottles = one cheap rooftop solar water heater.

I guess that would be one good way to recycle the massive number of beer bottles we have in our fridge at present. Although, that would require emptying them first…

Killian’s anyone?

wedding countdown...

We are getting married in T-minus three days and counting.

 

I am most excited about the cookie table.  My mom has made 5 dozen each of four different kinds of cookies, my dad has made 6 kolachi (which is about 180 pieces when cut), three aunts have made cookies, and Steve’s mom is making cookies.  YAY!!!  Considering that was the one thing I really wanted when we started planning the wedding, it’s turned out nicely.

 

Dress is just fitting me.  I’ve unfortunately put back on some weight since buying it but it still fits.  Doesn’t help that I’m nervous and bloated, but hey, that’s what control top undergarments are for right?

 

I’ve made two cheesecakes and about two dozen kiffels, still more kiffels to make.  Unfortunately I burned my LEFT ring finger making the cheesecake.  This came after a major hangnail incident and being STABBED under the fingernail by the multiflora rosebush I was trying to take down in the backyard… both on the same LEFT RING FINGER.  It’s like karma for not wearing my engagement ring while doing these activities or something.  Fortunately, all the injuries are healing nicely, probably thanks to the good nights of sleep I’ve been getting lately.  My body is finally on a good schedule, so able to take care of itself.

perfect wedding tips...

1)       Reduce invite-addressing stress by drinking when doing this task.  It puts in perspective that whether or not you get the last name of Uncle’ Sam’s fiancée’s right…they will still come to the wedding.  And if they don’t poo on them.

2)       Buy a dress with a corset bodice = no alterations = no stress about gaining/losing weight from the stress of not gaining weight

3)       Make sure you delegate as many tasks as possible.  However, you should also know that you will have to make final decisions ANYWAY, so make them BEFORE you delegate – no one believes you when you say you do not care what color your dad’s tux vest ends up.

4)       Use the money you would have wasted on nasty wedding cake that is too dry/too sweet/too melty/too tart to get chocolate covered strawberries for EVERYONE.  People might actually eat those.

5)       No one will understand why you put them at their table… and will move to the one they want to be at anyway.  So DO NOT waste your time trying to figure out if Aunt Myrtle will like your Cousin Eunice, or if it is worth putting near-sighted Uncle Fred at a table close to the dance floor when he’ll leave right after the meal.  Put all the names in a hat, and randomly assign table numbers to each guest by drawing them.  Or use dice to roll table numbers for each guest group. 

6)       Forget favors – spend the money on the band.  Everyone always throws them out as soon as they get home anyway.

7)       Buy comfortable shoes you can wear again.

8)       Buy the dress you like, even if it is more than you pay for rent each month and will only wear once.

9)       Get supplies at the Dollar Tree – no one will know.  No one will care, even if they do know!

10)   Marry your best friend.  ;-)

 

Hellooo...

Yes I know I have been not posting. New job, trying to actually work at, rather than goof off and get fired. A job where I have actual work to do most days most of the day, rather than "set up random experiment, wait 4 hours without doing anything else."

I do like the new job. A LOT. Which is why I won't blog about it, cause I'm not stupid.

Wedding plans are done... now it is little piddly stuff like checking on vendors and confirming reservations. The cake is ordered, the rings are picked up, we have the marriage license in hand as of Friday, and I have to go email the reception hall chick about how to spend more money (since our friends are bailing on us left and right after we invited them...).

Ciao!

this is IT

Ladies and gentlemen of Blogville... I present to you, my last will and testament... as a grad student. (Tomorrow is my LAST DAY EVAR...I start the new job on January 8, 2007... so you will see slightly less of me as there will be no new blogging from work... only home during free time, which I will have blessedly MORE of after tomorrow).

To my bench, I leave clean paper and no dust.

To my pipettes, I leave the opportunity to work for someone new.

To myself, I leave with fear of the unknown but courage to face new opportunity. All I have to do is turn in the darn thing tomorrow. Fingers crossed.

AH!

My thesis is finished. I think. I am walking away from it... saved in multiple places. I have to take a break. I am hoping to print it out and check it out on Saturday or Monday, then make any changes I need to... then to print it out for the graduate school. I am SOOOO tired.

Nicole

defense

:-)

I passed!

Now I just have to finish up and get these papers and myself out of here...I start my new job on January 8 - I won't say where, but it is my DREAM JOB. Gives me even more proof that this (leaving grad school with my Masters) is the right decision.

in... and out...

Oiy.

My masters thesis defense/meeting is tomorrow. Please pray extra hard for me today and tomorrow. I am trying not to obsess. I am trying to go over what I do know, and refreshing my memory and keeping things straight. I am confident - I know my stuff. I am just a little worried that I'll forget that when I set foot in that room.

I just have to remember to pull myself together if that happens. I remember my candidacy exam, I feel apart when I didn't know the answer to something. It was all down hill from there. But the last time I presented, I didn't know the answer to a question. Some discussion ensued, and I had a moment to recognize I was losing it. So I took a deep breath, told myself to pull it together, and did. Then I finished the presentation and did well. So I KNOW I can do this. I deserve this! I have worked and worked and worked, and yea, I am not staying to finish my Ph.D., but at the very least, I deserve to be recognized for the work I have done!

Just breathe. Deep breaths. Try not to pass out or hyperventilate.

Christmas goodness

There is a-plenty of Christmas around. ALL OVER MY FLOOR. ALL OVER MY FIANCE'S FLOOR. I just can't seem to get any of it on the tree. I'm not feeling the Christmas spirit this year. I only bought presents online, and because I felt obligated to get everyone something. Christmas music holds no appeal. I don't fully understand this. Part of it may be the little bit of depression, but I am feeling particularly low this season. The past few ones have been low, since my grandfather passed away during the holiday season in 2000, but usually I can still manage to enjoy it to an extent, while still honoring those memories of him.

This year, though, there is more emotional and physical baggage. A LOT OF stuff going on. I am motivated to do everything else, because also on my floor/my fiance`'s floor are...

-) at least four loads of laundry (how I have yet to run out of underwear is a question of cosmic quantum mechanics).

-) about ten pairs of shoes

-) various wedding accessories

-) books books and more books

That, and I just finished my written masters thesis yesterday. My brain hurts. Time for some weekend celebrating...WHOOOT WOOT!

chapter 3

Driving home in the pouring rain is never Elan’s idea of a good time. Still, she thinks, this is a challenge. Everyone else seems to totally flip out at the thought of slick roads – she just white knuckles the steering wheel and grits her teeth to help with the stress.

Finally home, she kicks off her shoes and heads straight for the shower. Anything short of scrubbing her skin off will help get rid of the stress of the day, despite the constant ringing of the cell phone.

“DAMMIT!!”

She waits for it to stop. It rings again and again and again, then stops just as she’s exiting the shower. Just for that, she thinks, I’m not calling you back right away” as she sinks into the couch with a hot cup of cider and the microwave dinner she had picked up on the way home.

second installment

Elan decided that going home was the best option, but that going home to no food was not. Stopping at the local organic food store on the way home would be the BEST option.

So off to the market she goes. And there bumps into none other than ... this guy. This guy she knows... what was his name again? Brett? Brandon? WAIT...Brad. "You remember him... the tall, sandy blonde that ignored you in college? That agreed to escort you to that dance?" she says to herself. "Oh yes... just one of many heartbreaks/heartbreakers..." she muses to her self.

"Oiy! Brad! What's up!?"

Not much. Just moved here for a new job. What about you?

Working, as usual. The funny thing is that they never tell you that the work doesn't stop with college, it just gets more focused and pointless.

Seriously!

Hey, I gotta run, but it was good seeing you!

Yeah, you too. Hey we should totally get together some time... what's your number?

We should definitely ... my fiance` and you would really get along.

Oh.

What... "oh."???

You're engaged?!

Uh, yeah. See the ring? (she blatantly waves the rock on her left hand... boys.)

--
In any event, they exchange numbers. Elan knows he won't call and doesn't totally intend to call him either. She'll pass it to her fiance` and tell him to call. Or to remind her to call - that will pretty much ensure that the call will never be made. Reconnecting with old crushes is not high on the priority list with a wedding to plan.

what love can't make better...

As much as I want to write a great post tonight, I can't. I have to go write a summary on stress granules and Processing bodies. Yay. :-| So this will be a short but sweet one.

I need to write more other than complaining. So now for your reading enjoyment, a short story... or a short part of a short story.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sky was inky black. Aside from the faint glow of the street lamps. It made it look almost like a charcoal drawing, with extra color from pastels added into the scene.

The protagonist of our story stepped out into the warm fall and made the brief observation that it was certainly warm for November. What to do next? To the library for a brief jaunt through the periodicals section for an article, then home to some food... or to the store to buy more food... or what else she didn't know. She just new that after standing all day, and trying desparately to focus on what her hands were doing, she wanted to allow her mind to wander aimlessly. To let her mind call the shots and to cause her fingers to dance gingerly over the keys and let out the thoughts that, like her, had been trapped inside all day - away from the light, hidden in the basement, and kept away from the world. Perhaps allowing them to spill would lighten the load and free her focus to accomplish the things she was required to do (not necessarily NEEDED to do, because that might imply she would rather be doing those things than anything else...).

She stepped out. And let her mind wander with her feet.