Things are falling into place
Howdy folks.
It's been a crazy few weeks. There's been a lot of tension in T-Rex's family, which has served to add stress to our lives. But nevertheless, things are falling into place (largely because I can multi-task and make emotional boundaries).
We had our wedding rehearsal last week. Everyone agreed it's a delightful location. We booked a spot in Central Park (event fees for under a certain # of people is only $25!). When we went to figure out exactly who will stand where and what we will do, the loveliest thing happened. A woman visiting from Australia who officiates weddings gave us some ideas and another woman who donated money to the park and had a bench nearby in her name came over and chatted with us and also gave us some nice ideas. There was a real collaborative feel to the whole thing, which is exactly what I wanted. Our friend (and T-Rex's best man Ken) remarked how nice it was that we were so "go with the flow" in comparison to some bridezilla "my way or the highway" experiences he's had. Our friend David will be playing his guitar during the ceremony and he was very nervous. But I reminded him that he's doing it for us, not for the whole park, and he can get into the zone just concentrating on his guitar. He eventually calmed down. But it was nice to know he was so nervous because he cares so much about us having a nice wedding.
I received an email that my dress is being shipped so I should receive it in a couple of days. We have the food all sorted out. We opted for a small cake with a personal design because a tiered wedding cake would cost at minimum $325 and we are trying to keep this whole thing very low budget. And as the woman at the bakery said "You're already going non-traditional! Anyway, it's your wedding. So therefore it's a wedding cake." heeeeee.
We still have some last-minute things to work out such as managing getting people from the park to the restaurant where we will have the dinner. I'm of the mindset that you give people directions and let them choose what's best for them. After all, it's bloody NYC and public transportation is a way of life here. Also, renting a van with a wheelchair lift (an option we looked into and then immediately rejected), would cost a minimum of $1,400 which is more than I'm spending on the photographer, dress, cake, T-Rex's tux (including top hat!) and parting gift bags combined. Srsly. This should be a 101 of how not to get carried away. I can easily see how people can spend $4k - $10k even for a small wedding if you keep adding on stuff without being creative.
So yeah, things are falling into place.
In other news, I have a garden on our balcony! I'm growing two kinds of tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, basil, mint, strawberries, carrots and two kinds of lettuce. I will supply pictures another time.
Finally, I've been properly chastised by T-Rex for failing to give you the news. We adopted a kitty. Her name is Penelope (Penny for short) and she's five years old. We got her from the vet and it wasn't easy going at first. In fact, we almost had to return her because she became ill and I couldn't feed her medicine. She's a very skittish cat and I suspect she was a) abused in a former household; and b) spent too long in a cage (she was turned into the vet's office about a year before we adopted her). So it's been nice to see her flourish in our home once she came out from under the bed and stopped scrambling in fear to get away every time I went to pet her. I hereby introduce Penelope.
Under the bed
Helping me with my dissertation
Sleeping on the couch next to a box (That's right, we're still not finished unpacking)
It's been a crazy few weeks. There's been a lot of tension in T-Rex's family, which has served to add stress to our lives. But nevertheless, things are falling into place (largely because I can multi-task and make emotional boundaries).
We had our wedding rehearsal last week. Everyone agreed it's a delightful location. We booked a spot in Central Park (event fees for under a certain # of people is only $25!). When we went to figure out exactly who will stand where and what we will do, the loveliest thing happened. A woman visiting from Australia who officiates weddings gave us some ideas and another woman who donated money to the park and had a bench nearby in her name came over and chatted with us and also gave us some nice ideas. There was a real collaborative feel to the whole thing, which is exactly what I wanted. Our friend (and T-Rex's best man Ken) remarked how nice it was that we were so "go with the flow" in comparison to some bridezilla "my way or the highway" experiences he's had. Our friend David will be playing his guitar during the ceremony and he was very nervous. But I reminded him that he's doing it for us, not for the whole park, and he can get into the zone just concentrating on his guitar. He eventually calmed down. But it was nice to know he was so nervous because he cares so much about us having a nice wedding.
I received an email that my dress is being shipped so I should receive it in a couple of days. We have the food all sorted out. We opted for a small cake with a personal design because a tiered wedding cake would cost at minimum $325 and we are trying to keep this whole thing very low budget. And as the woman at the bakery said "You're already going non-traditional! Anyway, it's your wedding. So therefore it's a wedding cake." heeeeee.
We still have some last-minute things to work out such as managing getting people from the park to the restaurant where we will have the dinner. I'm of the mindset that you give people directions and let them choose what's best for them. After all, it's bloody NYC and public transportation is a way of life here. Also, renting a van with a wheelchair lift (an option we looked into and then immediately rejected), would cost a minimum of $1,400 which is more than I'm spending on the photographer, dress, cake, T-Rex's tux (including top hat!) and parting gift bags combined. Srsly. This should be a 101 of how not to get carried away. I can easily see how people can spend $4k - $10k even for a small wedding if you keep adding on stuff without being creative.
So yeah, things are falling into place.
In other news, I have a garden on our balcony! I'm growing two kinds of tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, basil, mint, strawberries, carrots and two kinds of lettuce. I will supply pictures another time.
Finally, I've been properly chastised by T-Rex for failing to give you the news. We adopted a kitty. Her name is Penelope (Penny for short) and she's five years old. We got her from the vet and it wasn't easy going at first. In fact, we almost had to return her because she became ill and I couldn't feed her medicine. She's a very skittish cat and I suspect she was a) abused in a former household; and b) spent too long in a cage (she was turned into the vet's office about a year before we adopted her). So it's been nice to see her flourish in our home once she came out from under the bed and stopped scrambling in fear to get away every time I went to pet her. I hereby introduce Penelope.
Under the bed
Helping me with my dissertation
Sleeping on the couch next to a box (That's right, we're still not finished unpacking)