Here I am!

Sometimes, I wish that Jesse would want to post something out here now and then, so as to keep things going, and also because he's a pretty entertaining guy. Oh well...

Last night, I spoke to one of the DJ's we're considering for the reception. Since we'll be having our cocktail reception on a different floor from the actual reception itself, we're going to make it easy on ourselves, and plug in an iPod to play music at that point in the evening. I still need to start making the list of the songs I'd like to play. I don't know if Jesse is planning on adding his input to that, but I hope so. Anyway, the DJ I spoke to last night seemed really nice, professional, and had a good voice. It sounded all DJ-ish, and stuff. :) But their price was kinda low which sent up a red flag for me. I'm going to talk to a couple more DJ's, and it's not like I'm looking for the most expensive option, by any means. I was pretty impressed by the guy I spoke to last night, actually...he answered all my questions the way I'd hoped he would, he didn't mind when I interrupted his little schpeal to ask questions that popped into my head, and he sounds like he and his partner would be really honed in on what Jesse and I want to have played at the reception, which is the most important part. It's a fun vendor to work with, I think...I'm glad that so far, my experience in talking with them is good. We'll see how things go with the other two...

My twin and our oldest best friend (a.k.a. the co-matron of honor) have been busily helping me consider dresses for the bridesmaids over the past few weeks, and we're hoping that they'll be able to get out and try some on sometime in the next couple of weeks, so we have a better idea of what's going to be our final choice. I'm hoping we can start the ordering process on them no later than March...which is only about a month and a half away, which is crazy, and I don't even like to think of how quickly the year is already flying by, so don't get me started! I know it seems strange to even think of things that way, seeing as it's still only January, but here's what happens: I sit and consider the possible dates for my two showers that need to happen (one in Cali and one here in Kansas), and I think to myself, "Oh, we have plenty of time...I'll wait for the twin to get back to me on that when she can." But then I start working things out and I realize that one of the months we're considering (i.e. June) is not 6 months away any more. It's only about 4 months away. And holy crap, it's almost February, and where did the time go, and when can we have the shower here in Kansas because people need to take time from work and make plans ahead of time, and then I need to make my plans for going home to Cali for the shower in July, and I still don't have my veil designed and ordered and when do we have to order the cake again? And it suddenly just starts flying all about...my brain goes on overdrive, and I have to stop and watch something on Food Network to calm myself down again, for chrissakes.

So actually, I try not to think about it all very much. According to the vendors I talk to (as well as my nifty little timeline of tasks provided by The Knot.com), I'm running perfectly on schedule for getting things done. So I can go ahead and focus on the tasks that need attention around the house, like finding someplace to donate our old couch to in order to make room for the new couch we've ordered. And contacting the yard guys to let them know that I do want to upgrade our service this year in order to include the aerating process they suggested we do in spring. And then finding someone to paint the outside of the house, since it's going to start rotting away if we don't get it done this year. And how can we find the best deal on a new heating/cooling system that we must replace in the spring as well?

I must say, it's a damned good thing I found a new job like I did. Because otherwise, we might be in a lo-hoooot of trouble this spring. Unfortunately, these are things that must be done, or we'd put them off some more. But we can't go without A/C this summer. Or heat next winter. And it'd be bad to let the house start rotting away, I think. Those are the most pressing issues, anyway. I won't even start on the fact that we want to replace our kitchen table with something smaller.

These things would be so much harder to deal with, even on just an emotional level, if I was still single and having to take care of it all on my own. Thank God for Jesse. Thank God for someone that can deal with my strange moods, my sudden needs and desires to kick things into high gear (and, consequently, my sharp downslides into exhaustion on a weekly basis), and my somewhat constant picking on everything from clothing being left on a chair in the living room to the issue of why I really like the doors to be locked, even when we're home. It couldn't have been better timed for him to come into my life. For him to become the most important thing to me above everything else. I was watching a Grey's Anatomy episode over the weekend...one from season 2, which I have been watching via DVD rental from Netflix this year since Jesse isn't a fan of drama series on t.v., so I kind of "gave it up" for him when we started seeing each other. The main character (Meredith) was having a bit of an issue with the fact that she couldn't remember the last time she'd kissed the man (Dr. McDreamy) she's in love with (who happens to be married, but she fell in love with him without knowing that, and then had to break up with him when she found out and he chose to work things out with his semi-estranged wife instead of choosing her, and this is one of the reasons Jesse doesn't like these sorts of shows...). And I don't know why, but it started me thinking about my first kiss with Jesse. And do I remember it? Yes...yes I do. It was a surprise kiss...one of those ones you don't see coming. We were next to my car in the parking lot outside the restaurant. It was at the end of our first date, I think (one of the only areas I'm fuzzy on, I'm afraid...), and we were talking a little bit as things wound down for the night. All of a sudden, he bent down and kissed me. It wasn't as though we were sitting there with the anticipation of the dreaded First Kiss That Usually Happens At The End Of The Date, or anything. We were just...talking. And he caught me off guard. And it was perfect, and fun...and I hope I'll always remember it.

There's your dose of sap for the month, my friends. Next time, I should have more info about the DJ's, possibly some exciting updates about shower plans and whether I need to look into renting chairs for the reception, and maybe even some more house stuff. Ta for now!