yet another post of unrelated things...

this always happens when i don't update regularly. i don't have anything profound to devote to one entry, yet there are too many events to write extensively on... so, here i go. another hodgepodge of events and findings.

1. so i've already talked about the fact that we lost the backyard for the wedding. well, i came home on a sunday, and got a phone call the next morning (monday) from paul's mom - prompting me to come back down to lansdale to find an alternate venue. problem? the huge chain of snowstorms blasting through the northeast. we tracked weather in both directions and decided i was to leave the next clear day, which turned out to be the very next day (tuesday). drove down tuesday with enough clothes to last me a week in case i get stuck... and i set out to find a venue.

2. we found a venue. i made an appointment for wednesday to tour a couple of different places, saw them in one morning, asked about 3 pages full of questions, and plugged some numbers with mom and dad keller. the wedding's going to cost a LOT more than we originally anticipated, but both paul and i were talked into the first venue we saw. it's absolutely gorgeous. i can't say enough about it.


This is a picture of the grand ballroom at normandy farm. yup - it's a converted farm. rustic, yet beautiful. i was SO sad that paul couldn't come down with me to see it. he saw the pictures when i came home, and i think he was equally pleased.

3. flexed my lawyerly muscle. before we decided to go with the venue, i called up the sales director and asked for a couple of contract provisions to be changed. after about an hour of talking, i felt bad and apologized - explained that i'd gone to law school. to this the guy replied, "nooooo.... really? i never would have guessed." normally, i would have been annoyed at the sarcasm, but i did feel bad and he was more than accomodating.

4. put down a deposit on my dress. mom quickly pointed out that maybe i should have waited since i was going to lose SO much weight before the wedding (uhh... yeah, right). then she thought about the possibility that the dress might be discontinued (since it is from last year's collection), and changed her mind. the shop wanted $400 for a veil. i'm trying to figure out if i can just make one myself for $100.

5. it was -17degrees yesterday. my face hurt.

6. i found out (via the history channel) that the star spangled banner is taken after a popular british drinking song. yay america.

7. laura bush's dress (from the inaugural balls) were NOT flattering on her. shame on you, oscar. none of those dresses were pretty. (did you see the yucky green?)

8. i put together a bridesmaid newsletter, which forced me to learn to use microsoft publisher. my next project is putting together a monogram. i'm hoping it'll force me to learn how to use adobe illustrator. see? wedding planning is a learning process.

9. i've concluded that most brides have absolutely no taste. we went to a bridal show on the 16th, and there was a dj (with a mullet) wearing a flashing button on his coat asking "hey, anyone want a dj?" i was then confronted by a flood of postings on a message board saying how awesome the bridal show was. point made.

10. corn nuggets rock. it's corn, it's fried, and it's yummalicious.

11. due to the change in venue, we are now having a full open bar at the wedding (which is good). they informed us that the bartenders card (which can be good or bad, depending on who you are). i'm just excited i can have my vodka and pineapple juice at my own wedding.

12. i still don't have a job.

13. my parents constantly remind me of that fact.

14. we got internet phone. we're still reserving judgment on it. i'm all about the free long distance, but the couple instances of static made me think twice about its awesomeness.

15. my friend gavin is going to gabon (that's in africa). that boy makes me worry all the time.

16. i made cartoon doll caricatures of my bridal party off an internet site. i hope they're not offended when they see it.

17. now i want to make a cartoon doll caricature of every girl i know. why? because it's 4 in the morning, i don't want to do work, and i'm insanely bored.

18. the eagles won.

19. the steelers lost.

20. i guess that means i'm rooting for the eagles on superbowl sunday. (we're hosting a party)

okay... 20 seems like a nice round number. i'll leave it up to that.
wow, that's a long post.

...and there comes the glitches

well...
the new year's begun, and so the wedding planning is in full force once again.
good thing, too. found out that we will be unable to have a backyard wedding like we had envisioned. turns out the property is a) too divided up by random trees to erect the gigantic tent needed for both the reception and the ceremony - that is, unless we start cutting trees down; b) too sloped, which would mean we would have to spend tons of money and tons of time building a wooden LEVEL floor across a very big span of land... and i heard something about two truckloads of sand involved in this convo; and c) if it rains, we have to look through clear plastic walls unless we dish out even more money to get not so clear fake plastic "cathedral windows".

so basically, this is not what we wanted.

i'm a little disappointed about not having a backyard wedding. the sentamentality attached to the whole thing was the most appealing to me, really... but hey. reality is reality.
luckily, we think we have found a good alternative.
if the date hasn't been snatched up first.
and paul reminds me that this is really a blessing in disguise. now, i don't have to worry about renting the china, the linens, the flatware, the glassware, the tents, the dancefloor, the lighting, the servers, the food, the liquor, the bartender, etc. separately, a la carte.
i guess this is some divine intervention? saving me an ulcer, and possibly a very ugly breakup of a good relationship gone bad due to even uglier wedding planning.

i have to say, i'm really sorry that i didn't go into the wedding industry straight out of college. these people rob you of your money left and right. holy cow. my original budget projections went straight out the door, and i basically had to double it just to cover all the basic needs.
and i'm not even getting the premium martini bar...

anyway -
found my dress.
i'm 99.9% sure.
i'm going back next month to put down the deposit and get measured.
mom says i should wait until i'm thin and beautiful.
mom just needs to realize i'm never going to be thin.
but i might still be beautiful, anyway.

will write more later.
see? i updated.