Merry Sickness To Me

Hope you all had a lovely Christmas / Hannukah / Holidays. I enjoyed the time spent with family, but I've been sick as a dog since last Sunday and I am only now starting to take a turn for the better.

On Dec. 22nd, which i think was a saturday, we had a christmas get-together at Rich's uncle's house. I was feeling great and enjoying myself and talking to one of his aunts about how I rarely get sick and have been really lucky this year...I even knocked on wood after I said that! and wouldn't you know it, the next morning I woke up with my throat feeling like sandpaper. I didn't think too much of it - I figured it was just the dryness in the house from the furnace being higher these days. But then the froggie in my throat turned into a big old monster and I went downhill from there. You name it, I had it. Cough, congestion, sore throat, aches, fever, clogged sinues, sneezing - I was so sick. I thought by Christmas day I'd be okay, but nope, it held on and I had to do my travelling and visiting with my box of kleenex and bags of herbal teas in my pockets.

So, while it's been nice to be off, it hasn't been much fun at all. To make things worse, Rich ended up pulling a muscle in his neck and it was so bad that I literally had to help him in and out of bed. I'm on tylenol 3's - he's on muscle relaxers - we're quite a pair! Today is Saturday and we've literally spent the whole day in bed watching HGTV. LITERALLY ALL DAY. i kid you not. I think we got up to heat up our leftover chinese food that we ordered for dinner last night cause neither of us are in any shape to cook. Mind you - I can't taste anything anyways so it wouldn't matter what I ate. But we haven't done anything today other than lie in bed and watch the tube. I just came into the office to post this as I know it's been awhile, and I had to stretch my legs a bit).

Even though we've both had it rough over the holidays, we've still managed to enjoy the company of both our families. It was kind of funny because my parents and brothers and nieces were all outside tobogganing up and down my brother's hill at the cottage and rich and I were watching them while sitting outside in the hot-tub on the deck of the cottage. It felt funny seeing them all bundled up in snowpants, and us in our bathing suits. But it was kind of cool.

Now we're thinking about new year's eve and wondering what to do. We may just have a quiet night together and go out for dinner -- we're not quite sure yet. But hopefully we'll both be feeling better by then.

Decisions, Decisions

Rich and I have been talking about our honeymoon plans. Italy is our main honeymoon destination; however, we’re not going until September. We wanted to wait until then as that’s when they harvest the grapes for the wine (‘hic..) and it’s just beautiful there that time of year (so I’ve been told). We will be taking two weeks to see Venice, Florence and Rome. I cannot wait!

But because our wedding is in June, we also wanted an immediate getaway right after. Our first thought was something easy…all inclusive beach resort…maybe Barbados or St. Martin. Laze on a beach and eat and drink at our leisure. But now our minds are changing. As we’ve been researching vacations, we’re finding that for relatively the same price as Barbados, we could go to back to France. (and we’d probably appreciate Barbados more if we were to go in the winter months as opposed to June).

Our first thought was Paris! Paris in the Spring – does it get any better!? Rich took me to Paris last year and it was one of the most amazing experiences of my life! Who says no to a honeymoon there? BUT – I love the beach and the water and I know that I’ll want to relax after the wedding and not go crazy with sightseeing and trains, planes and automobiles, if you know what I mean.

So I think we found a compromise – the French Riviera! Still the magic and culture of France, but on the Mediterranean Sea – beachside – just how I like it! It will be the best of both worlds. So, although we haven’t made up our minds 100% yet – I think it will either be Nice or Cannes for our honeymoon in June.

Are we crazy? France in June and Italy in September? I don’t know if it’s all a bit much for one year. But then again – it’s our wedding – our honeymoon – we should make it be all it can be, non? Who’s with me on this one? Can I get a “Whoa France!” … anyone??? anyone??? ………

Me? Organized? Maybe just a little...

Hello folks. Sorry for my laziness in blog posting. It’s been a busy few weeks. The wedding planning is going well. There’s a few big things that still need to get done. Bridesmaid dresses, invitations, wedding bands – but they’re all sourced, so it’s just a matter of putting the order in.

There are of course a tonne of little things to do – like buy jewelry, shoes, schedule make-up appt., outfit the guys, and much more, but it’s things that don’t have deadlines, etc. So, I'm ahead of schedule which should mean smooth sailing in the new year. Rich and I are pretty much out of commission for the month of May. There is something every weekend that month, so I have to have everything ready and in order by end of April. When you think about it, that’s only 5 months away. Time sure does fly when you’re having fun!

When people ask me how the planning is coming, it’s usually followed by them saying “so…I hear your very organized”. I’m not sure how to take that statement. The way it is said sometimes almost makes me feel like I’m being judged in a negative light. Do people picture me as a crazy, person running around with a checklist and my arms flailing and ordering people around to get things done? Because that’s not me. I’ve actually been pretty calm, respectful and tactful while planning my wedding. Yes it’s true – I am very organized! But I have to be. I’m doing this on my own. I don’t have a wedding planner. My parents have been great in helping us with money and my mom has ordered me some great things online, and Rich’s folks are helping us with the rehearsal dinner and honeymoon, and I’m grateful for all of that, but when it comes to the actual planning, calling, emailing, scheduling, organizing, ordering, buying, drafting, printing, decorating, and putting everything together -- it’s little ol’ me arranging an event for almost 200 people by myself.

Sure, Rich will browse online for honeymoon destinations, and maybe go with me to look at things at stores, but really (sorry hun) it’s me doing the “stuff”. It can be a bit overwhelming at times. So instead of being a bridezilla about it, I just choose to be organized about it instead. If that means getting things done sooner than later – so be it. It eases my mind – keeps me on track and allows me to be more relaxed. Another thing I don’t think people realize, is that this is what I do at work on a daily basis. I have to be overly-organized in my job in order to thrive and function, so that flows into my personal life too.

Trust me…at the end of the day, it’s a good thing, and it’ll be an even better thing when it’s a few weeks before the wedding and all I’ll have to do is sit back, relax and let the good times roll. That sounds pretty nice to me.

P.S. Happy Hannukah to my Jewish peeps!