Life Update
Ah life's finally calming down again after the crazy weeks of vacations, visits, and guests. It was all so amazing, and I'll probably never find the time to update about it. So, notes.
Dan and Danielle's wedding was beautiful and so much fun, and I only hope my own Colorado wedding will be as wonderful. I loved loved loved getting "the table" back together (minus Lucio) because I forgot what an easy and fun dynamic we all have together. I've missed that tremendously. I'm glad we got to hang out at brunch the next morning and then got to spend time with Bryce and Julia the rest of the weekend. We asked them to be our best man and maid of honor, respectively, which was a lot of fun and made what was already a special weekend even more so. I am really excited about that, because they're so important to us as a couple, we have so many overlapping bonds of strong friendship, and without Julia I wouldn't have even MET Casey, or, (perhaps more importantly), be the kind of woman I am today.
Spending the rest of the week in Evergreen was so needed. I love that after all these years, I am still so close to Sammi, David, and Ashley. It was so so so good for my soul to laugh with all of them again the way we always do. I can't believe I hadn't seen Ashley in a year. She brought us all lovely gifts from the Marshall Islands, which was sweet. We went to Film on the Rocks and Jordan joined us. I saw them all again for Ice Age 3 and some sweet monsoon rain dancing. I'm lucky to have friends that are so full of life that they'll dance wildly in the pouring rain with me at 11:30 pm outside of Barnes and Noble. DB must have thought we were crazy. (I'm also lucky to have a brother who would come pick up his potentially crazy ride-less sister at 11:30 at night in a storm.) I had to laugh that upon hearing of my engagement to Casey, Jordan jokingly dropped to one knee and told me to marry him instead. If only I were still a freshman in highschool and crazy about him, it would have been my wildest-dreams-come-true to finally hear Jordan propose! How funny!
While in Evergreen I also FINALLY got my hair cut (so much cuter!) and did a LOT of wedding dress shopping. Well, three appointments seems like a lot anyway. I love that the very first time I went, I was able to have my mom, my maid of honor, and my sister all there with me. It made it all so much more fun. I have it narrowed down to three dresses, and I still have no idea how I'll choose. Perhaps I'll send some pics to just my bridesmaids, (once I ASK them all to be bridesmaids that is!) to get a few pointers or thoughts.
My sister then came with me back to St. Louis, and was here while Casey was in Iowa for Nick's wedding. I feel bad that I couldn't go, especially cause I still haven't seen Casey's family since we got engaged. But it was nice to have all that time with JUST Sammie. We did SO MUCH in the city - our days were packed. We were so busy-busy that whenever we'd get back we'd just plop on the couch and eat freeze-pops while surfing for Cake Boss to be on, unable to move. The Fray concert, the Zoo, and paddle boating in the Forest Park fountains were definitely highlights. Can't wait to get all those pictures up!
In recent news, I've been doing a combination of much-needed resting, preparing to be academically-productive for the rest of the summer, spending some good quality time with Casey, and working. Casey and I really missed each other between me being gone and then him being gone, and so we've been having a lot of fun. Last night we went out to see The Proposal, which was absolutely hysterical, and then tonight we went swing dancing at the Atomic Cowboy, which was so much fun despite the heat. We ran into Robert with some church-friends, and we danced to our heart's content. I can't believe I've gone that long without dancing because Casey and I just have so much FUN. We have absolutely no technique together, but who cares?
Work's been going okay. I think I'm finally getting all I have to do, and not asking as many questions or making as many mistakes. I made $13 in tips tonight, which is quite exciting, and Darren (the manager I like working with best) thinks I'm starting to really get the hang of the carry-out orders, which is the hardest part. This is what I have learned about working in a restaurant - ALWAYS TIP YOUR CARRY-OUT PERSON, DELIVERY BOY, AND BARTENDER! Seriously, even one dollar makes their day. I hate when people who have really big complicated orders that I run around wildly to put together don't tip. I also hate when people are rude. So many rude customers! Why, people? But the last two nights have gone really well, and are helping to assuage my earlier frustrations. I like feeling successful, even at things I know don't matter in the long run, like this job that may not even make it on my resume. I also like being well-liked. Everyone keeps saying how smiley and friendly I am, and Karl (another manager) says that's good for this job, and that I deal well with people. I think that's the PA in me. :-)
Today I also went to the library to get the ball rolling on some academic stuff. I picked up that HUGE book Damien's having us read over the summer to prepare for the first day of class in August (the book that I have been given the task of presenting and discussing with the class), and get a BUNCH of books to strengthen my Alfred paper, because I have to make it shine for the CONFERENCE IN BOULDER THEY ACCEPTED ME TO SPEAK AT AHHH! I'm worried already that I'll get weird crazy questions about kingship that I can't answer. But I'm excited (and a bit surprised) still about the acceptance. Ran into Luke working tearing down shelves at the library, and we laughed about how we have BAs and are working towards our Masters, and the only summer jobs we could find still only pay minimum wage. He's also getting married! We're going to his engagement party this weekend woohoo! I'm glad for him and Debbie.
Ok, enough life update for now. Sleep!
Dan and Danielle's wedding was beautiful and so much fun, and I only hope my own Colorado wedding will be as wonderful. I loved loved loved getting "the table" back together (minus Lucio) because I forgot what an easy and fun dynamic we all have together. I've missed that tremendously. I'm glad we got to hang out at brunch the next morning and then got to spend time with Bryce and Julia the rest of the weekend. We asked them to be our best man and maid of honor, respectively, which was a lot of fun and made what was already a special weekend even more so. I am really excited about that, because they're so important to us as a couple, we have so many overlapping bonds of strong friendship, and without Julia I wouldn't have even MET Casey, or, (perhaps more importantly), be the kind of woman I am today.
Spending the rest of the week in Evergreen was so needed. I love that after all these years, I am still so close to Sammi, David, and Ashley. It was so so so good for my soul to laugh with all of them again the way we always do. I can't believe I hadn't seen Ashley in a year. She brought us all lovely gifts from the Marshall Islands, which was sweet. We went to Film on the Rocks and Jordan joined us. I saw them all again for Ice Age 3 and some sweet monsoon rain dancing. I'm lucky to have friends that are so full of life that they'll dance wildly in the pouring rain with me at 11:30 pm outside of Barnes and Noble. DB must have thought we were crazy. (I'm also lucky to have a brother who would come pick up his potentially crazy ride-less sister at 11:30 at night in a storm.) I had to laugh that upon hearing of my engagement to Casey, Jordan jokingly dropped to one knee and told me to marry him instead. If only I were still a freshman in highschool and crazy about him, it would have been my wildest-dreams-come-true to finally hear Jordan propose! How funny!
While in Evergreen I also FINALLY got my hair cut (so much cuter!) and did a LOT of wedding dress shopping. Well, three appointments seems like a lot anyway. I love that the very first time I went, I was able to have my mom, my maid of honor, and my sister all there with me. It made it all so much more fun. I have it narrowed down to three dresses, and I still have no idea how I'll choose. Perhaps I'll send some pics to just my bridesmaids, (once I ASK them all to be bridesmaids that is!) to get a few pointers or thoughts.
My sister then came with me back to St. Louis, and was here while Casey was in Iowa for Nick's wedding. I feel bad that I couldn't go, especially cause I still haven't seen Casey's family since we got engaged. But it was nice to have all that time with JUST Sammie. We did SO MUCH in the city - our days were packed. We were so busy-busy that whenever we'd get back we'd just plop on the couch and eat freeze-pops while surfing for Cake Boss to be on, unable to move. The Fray concert, the Zoo, and paddle boating in the Forest Park fountains were definitely highlights. Can't wait to get all those pictures up!
In recent news, I've been doing a combination of much-needed resting, preparing to be academically-productive for the rest of the summer, spending some good quality time with Casey, and working. Casey and I really missed each other between me being gone and then him being gone, and so we've been having a lot of fun. Last night we went out to see The Proposal, which was absolutely hysterical, and then tonight we went swing dancing at the Atomic Cowboy, which was so much fun despite the heat. We ran into Robert with some church-friends, and we danced to our heart's content. I can't believe I've gone that long without dancing because Casey and I just have so much FUN. We have absolutely no technique together, but who cares?
Work's been going okay. I think I'm finally getting all I have to do, and not asking as many questions or making as many mistakes. I made $13 in tips tonight, which is quite exciting, and Darren (the manager I like working with best) thinks I'm starting to really get the hang of the carry-out orders, which is the hardest part. This is what I have learned about working in a restaurant - ALWAYS TIP YOUR CARRY-OUT PERSON, DELIVERY BOY, AND BARTENDER! Seriously, even one dollar makes their day. I hate when people who have really big complicated orders that I run around wildly to put together don't tip. I also hate when people are rude. So many rude customers! Why, people? But the last two nights have gone really well, and are helping to assuage my earlier frustrations. I like feeling successful, even at things I know don't matter in the long run, like this job that may not even make it on my resume. I also like being well-liked. Everyone keeps saying how smiley and friendly I am, and Karl (another manager) says that's good for this job, and that I deal well with people. I think that's the PA in me. :-)
Today I also went to the library to get the ball rolling on some academic stuff. I picked up that HUGE book Damien's having us read over the summer to prepare for the first day of class in August (the book that I have been given the task of presenting and discussing with the class), and get a BUNCH of books to strengthen my Alfred paper, because I have to make it shine for the CONFERENCE IN BOULDER THEY ACCEPTED ME TO SPEAK AT AHHH! I'm worried already that I'll get weird crazy questions about kingship that I can't answer. But I'm excited (and a bit surprised) still about the acceptance. Ran into Luke working tearing down shelves at the library, and we laughed about how we have BAs and are working towards our Masters, and the only summer jobs we could find still only pay minimum wage. He's also getting married! We're going to his engagement party this weekend woohoo! I'm glad for him and Debbie.
Ok, enough life update for now. Sleep!