It's September 22nd now, and this month has flown by just as I thought it would. I mentioned in my last post on August 31st just how busy September was going to be, and it hasn't let me down. I actually ended up with MORE to do than I originally anticipated. In addition to my crazy "to do" list that I already had, I added on another environmental project to the mix. Granted, it wasn't MY project - it was a request for my help on reviewing and piecing together the appendices for some reports in a huge project portfolio. To bore you a little, the portfolio included 36 project sites that had two assessments each - an environmental assessment and a property condition assessment. Each assessment included a full report with a set of itemized appendices, so 72 reports total. And with it all being part of a large portfolio, it meant that it was all due at the same time. So the project manager asked for my help, and of course I said yes because MONEY.
(My mom has told me that I really need to learn how to say no sometimes.)
The positive side of working on those appendices was that even though they took time, it was easy money, and I didn't have to use my brain all that much (unlike when I'm actually WRITING my own report and have to really think about what I'm doing). I was able to work on them in autopilot mode. The negative part was that it took up even more of the time that I already didn't have.
I completed 25 reports for the project manager. I was hoping to do more, but the time crunch for the due date (and my lack of available "free" time due to my other projects and my two chitlins) capped me out at the 25 mark. But that's still a big check in my pocket for 25 reports.
Onto other things less boring.......I'm marrying another couple this coming Saturday! This will be the 8th or 9th wedding I've performed - I've lost count! But this time is different because I just met the couple for the first time today. I wasn't sure what to expect......the girl (Leah) and I had been texting, and she had told me that they live in Dayton and are having a small wedding (30 people) at Camp Columbus in Hixson. I also knew from her last text that she works at Little Caesar's Pizza in Dayton, and that she and her soon-to-be-husband wanted to meet at Huddle House in Soddy Daisy today to discuss the details. I ASSUMED I would be meeting some 18-year-old teenagers wanting to tie the knot right out of high school, because that's just what the conversation sounded like. But I was pleasantly surprised (you know what they say about people who assume.....). The couple is older than I am and some of the NICEST people I have ever met. The husband is a truck driver, has a 9-year-old daughter from a previous relationship, and was so great with Delano that he couldn't stop laughing the entire time we were talking. Leah was sweet and smiley and bubbly and friendly and was so excited to be marrying Josh (the hubs) she couldn't stand it. She used to make cakes at a bakery so is making their wedding cake (I saw pics of her cakes - they're GOOD) and long ago he used to be a cook, so he's making foods from scratch like specialty hummus and orzo pasta and artichoke salad and a few other things I've already forgotten. Regardless, TOTALLY UNEXPECTED. So now I'm completely excited for this wedding on Saturday!
Following the wedding on Saturday, Lucas and I have a date night to Wine Over Water! It's been a few years since I've been to WOW. Last year I was pregnant with Lucy, and the year before Delano was only a month old and I was a newly nursing mom. Lucas and I have been to WOW together pre-babies, but I must say that WOW has always taken the cake when I've gone with girlfriends. Because girlfriends who love wine and go to a wine event MAKE IT HAPPEN. I'll never forget when Laura and I went one year and ran into our favorite cop (Peter Turk, sigh) right as we were walking in. We told him to take a good look at us, that this is what we looked like PRE-WOW. Three hours later, I'm pretty sure we were sitting in his lap and singing to him. Another year, Leah and I went to Foodworks afterwards and got continuously hit on by an "older gentleman" at the bar. Good part - he bought drinks. The first year I went, I think I was pounding drinks at Chili's afterwards (BECAUSE THAT'S SMART), followed by more drinks at CBC (BECAUSE THAT'S EVEN SMARTER). Oh no wait.......I pounded drinks at 212 afterwards one year, along with what seemed like half the WOW crowd. But since we (Laura and I) knew the bartender, we were always top priority. BECAUSE WE NEEDED MORE BOOZE.
I apologize that this post doesn't include any pictures. I'm usually all over the funny pics in my blog posts. But tonight I'm just writing to get it done.
I went to a wedding this past week. My friend Candy married her beau, Chase. I was originally supposed to officiate the wedding, but a few weeks ago Candy messaged me and told me that her step-father really wanted to do it. And let me tell you, it couldn't have been more perfect. The ceremony was so personal and emotional - it was WAY more than I could have ever done. Her step-dad was crying, Candy was crying, Chase was crying, and every girl in the audience was crying! They wrote their own vows, and Chase's vows took the cake. They were the sweetest vows ever. And even though Candy looks beautiful in all of the pictures floating around, they don't even remotely do her justice for how beautiful she looked in person. She was absolutely breathtaking.
One of my BFFs (Leah - not to be confused with the Leah I just met for Saturday's wedding) is getting married this Friday, and I'm super excited!! Ahhhhh I can't wait! She's marrying a guy we've both known for a long time, and the two of them together are just perfection. It's just been a great week for weddings!!
Well, I've got a billion other things I'd like to talk about, but I need to wrap it up since I'm sure my daughter will be awake to eat in a few hours and I really should get a little bit of sleep before she wakes up. She moved into her crib for the first time last night for sleep training, so tonight is Night #2, but it has already been thrown off by her way-too-early bedtime (she was SO TIRED and I couldn't force her to stay awake any longer). It was either let her take a short nap and then be up way too late, or just let her go ahead and go to bed, so I did the latter. But as a parent you know there are always consequences when the schedule is thrown off. :)
Okay, okay. Here's ONE pic!
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| Setting up the crib this past weekend! Little did she know that was her new bed. |
