1 month and 1 day

So for the past three weeks I have barely been home and therefore devoted far less time to wedding planning than I would have liked. Though I must say that I have immensely enjoyed my travels, with the exception of missing Dave and our animals.

I drove by myself to Michigan about two weeks ago for my wedding shower and cousin Steve's wedding. The drive was long and mostly uneventful sans the 6 hours of rain on day 2. Also, the Comfort Inn I stayed at in Coralville, Iowa had a less that hospitable hospitality host. When I arrived after driving for 12 hours, I asked if they had a room on the 2nd floor. I was after all a lone woman in a hotel room in a strange town. The kid behind the desk said they were booked and put me in the handicap room on the first floor. The first I do is check the windows...duh. After checking sides, top and bottom I fail to see where the locking mechanism is located. I walk back to to the front desk and ask the same kid if the lock is somewhere not obvious. He looks at me and says, "We don't have locks on the windows." With a straight face! I walk back to my room and try to contact the hotel manager, but she isn't in her office so I walk back for the third time and tell the kid like it is. Needless to say, I spent the rest of the night in a room on the 2nd floor.

Anyway, while in Michigan my sisters and best friend hosted my wedding shower. I thought everything was wonderful and wished I could have sat back and been an observer, but apparently that isn't how these things work. If you were at my wedding shower I truly appreciate your being there and I am sorry that I couldn't have just talked with you the whole time. I can't wait until all this wedding hullabaloo is over and I can back to my regularly scheduled life.

My cousin Steve married his beautiful now wife Marianne on July 25th, 2008 in Toledo, OH. Their wedding was in an old church downtown and the ceremony took place at a small, private college. I really liked their idea for the centerpieces. Instead of flowers, each table had a cake on a stand. Talk about doing double duty!! Marianne's dress was gorgeous (we chose the same designer), and most importantly, my cousin is happy and chose a great person to share the rest of his life with. Congratulations Steve and Marianne!

The weekend following their wedding was filled with family and friends. We hung out with some of Dave's family, went to my Aunt and Uncle's annual party and then saw some good friends in Ann Arbor. The next day was a party at my parent's house for my brother-in-law Erik to celebrate his safe return from Iraq. All in all, it was great week and I totally neglected my own wedding planning. Oops!

Now I am Sedona, AZ with my parents and sisters. We did get all my bookmarks done yesterday and Mary worked on the ceremony some more. I ordered the Rehearsal Dinner invites and will work on getting those out when I get back to CO on the 11th. The 15th is the last day for our RSVPs so then I will have to start on the seating chart.

There is only 1 month and 1 day until I am the next Mrs. R. I hope I don't lose my mind between now and then.