Little Updates

Our wedding is in 15 days! Next Thursday, I'll be traveling to Wisconsin to do last-minute wedding things and staying there until mid-week after the wedding. I will be there for about two weeks; it will be the longest I have spent in my hometown since I first left, when I was 20 years old.

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I've been sick for the last four days with a horrific sore throat and an overall feeling like I was recently hit by a truck. Bad timing. We are due to have a house full of cyclists this weekend, as the infamous WVMBA Black Bear Race in Kanawha State Forest is on Sunday. Brad and several of his Pittsburgh friends are racing, so our house will be full of skinny guys with shaved legs, bike parts, lycra clothing, and chamois cream. I was planning on hiking to the top of the trail to watch people crash on the moss-covered cliffs, but if I don't start to feel better, I might have to sit this one out.

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Finally, I leave you with a photo of my dog on a mossy log.

An Actual Conversation

It is 7:45 AM. I just woke up and I am lounging on the sofa, rubbing my eyes while wearing a Guns and Roses T-shirt and cut off jean shorts. Brad sits down next to me with a cup of coffee and his laptop. He is wearing a suit.

Brad: We're really a study in contrasts here, aren't we?
K: . . .
Brad: . . .
K: Can I have two dollars?
Brad: And now you're begging the guy in the suit for two dollars.

WWJHD?

Our wedding is less than one month away, and I'm traveling to Wisconsin in three weeks. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. We have been engaged for three years, and I've spent most of that time saying, "Oh, I have so much time." Now it's almost here, and I feel like I'm forgetting something important!

I picked up my dress from the seamstress a couple of days ago, and I was pleased to see that it fits well. I've lost a couple of pounds since I last tried it on, so it is a little more comfortable, too. I mean, it's definitely not a comfortable dress by any means, but I love it and I think it is flattering to my figure. I'll be channeling Joan Holloway on my wedding day and trying to embrace my curves:



I went to Macy's and a wonderful little woman named Amber Rose at the Lancome counter sold me some beautiful eye make-up for the big day. She gave me a mini-makeover there in the store; I will go a little bit lighter-handed than she did, but I liked the techniques that she used.

I made a silk flower/pearl/feather fascinator for my hair, but I'm still trying to decide how exactly I want to wear it. My hair is naturally wavy, and I want to keep the wave but I don't want to have, like, ringlet curls or anything. I don't want "bride hair," and my hair is about chin-length, so it might be a challenge. I'm thinking something similar to this, only less triangular, and with the fascinator more on the back of my head:



I just want to look my absolute best on our wedding day! I want Brad to see me and think that he is the luckiest guy in the room, because I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have him.

A Random Act of Kindness

Today I drove downtown for a job interview. I pulled into a municipal lot with metered parking and, since I was really early, was digging around in my bag, looking for something to occupy my time for a few minutes.

All of a sudden, there was a knock on the driver's side window. There stood a teenage girl, maybe 16 or 17, wearing a little Hello Kitty T-shirt and holding a bag from Delia's. I rolled down the window and she said, "Do you want to take my parking spot? I have over an hour left on the meter, and I don't have anything else to do. That way you can keep your change."

"Sure, that would be great! Thank you so much!" I replied.

I watched as she backed her car out and I moved my car to her spot, all the while marveling at what a kind gesture it was. The people here are genuinely nice. Charleston is like Pleasantville!

Swear I Was Born Right in the Doorway

Our friend Matt will be playing this song on his guitar in 5.5 weeks, on a beautiful Saturday in September, as I walk down the aisle to marry the man of my dreams. This song sums up exactly how I feel about Brad; I don't care, I can go anywhere with him and I'll probably be happy.

Little Updates, Lawyer Edition

Brad finished the bar exam yesterday at 4.00 pm. His results won't come back until sometime in October, so I won't have to start referring to him as "Counselor" for a couple of months. He and I are both relieved that it's over. We celebrated with a bottle of cheap champagne at home, a drink with his future colleagues at a Charleston-swanky bar, and Mexican food at Los Agaves. All in all, it was a good night.

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Tomorrow we are heading up to PA where Brad will be racing in the Wilderness 101. It should be a good time -- a lot of Brad's friends are doing this race as well and I think I am going to volunteer at one of the aid stations. Nothing beats watching people stumble around incoherently after they've been riding for 8 hours!

I am a bit concerned, as I tend to be, about our dog. She doesn't always get along with other dogs, and sometimes people let their dogs run around, unleashed, at these events. Hopefully it won't be a problem this weekend! I have a 15' leash with which I will tether her to a tree and hope for the best. I'm sure she'll just lie there, peering at me, like she does at home. She's becoming incredibly lazy now that she's almost 4 years old.

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Brad and I are suit shopping this afternoon. I have high hopes for the Jos A Bank clearance sale!

An Actual Conversation

What follows is an actual conversation between Brad and I about my new, hot pink nail polish.

K: Hey, what do you think of my new nail polish? *waves fingers around in the air*
B: You look like a fishing lure.
K: . . .