Well, they have officially started. The wedding nightmares.

It starts with insomnia. Cannot possibly sleep. Too much to do. Too much to think about.

Last night when Casey went to bed, I went to online shopping for bathing suits for two hours. Why? I have no idea. But it seemed crucial at the time to have at least 20 bathing suits secured in my online shopping cart. When I finally decided to give sleep a go (and walked away without buying a single thing), I was treated to hours of full-blown wedding nightmares. And not just one long nightmare, but a montage of the various things that could go wrong.

Highlights included:

• We ran out of food about 15 minutes into the wedding – just scraps and bits left on trays and lots of hungry guests.
• Random people showed up that i was not expecting – one of them gave me a dollar. Don’t know why.
• The reception was actually at my mom’s house (which wasn’t really her house – you know how it goes), and she insisted on playing her iPod (that she doesn’t even have) and put on this new age music she loves called Christiphori’s Dream. Horrifying.
• The reception went into hyper-speed and I didn’t get to talk to 90% of the guests, and there was only 15 minutes of dancing and everyone was angry that I was selfish and didn’t talk to them after they had traveled near and far.
• My dress didn’t fit.

The final bit sent me over the edge. Not surprising though, as I had my second dress fitting yesterday! It was actually a lot of fun, and I was finally able to see what my dress looks like on me, now that it is not four billion sizes too big. When I saw it hanging on the dress form, I was shocked at how SMALL it looked – and very scared that it wasn’t going fit. Lindsey looked just as terrified as I was when she zipped me up, but by some miracle, I DID actually fit, and the dress was stunning. I love it. Love love love it. And I won’t be gaining one ounce, or I’ll never get it back on again! I wish I could share the pictures, but the whole dress/bride/surprise tradition is one of the few I’m holding on to…

Latest wedding tasks completed:

• invitations mailed (!!!)
• dog kennel reservation for wedding weekend booked
• emailed musicians about ceremony music
• emailed hotel about rehearsal dinner and room block
• finalized outfit – hairpiece and jewelry
• finalized all bridesmaid accessories (!!!)

Wedding tasks that continue to haunt me in my sleep:

• decide where to get good, (inexpensive) food for rehearsal dinner
• rent or purchase linens and dishes for reception
• plan wedding ceremony and pick readings
• design and print ceremony progams

I wish the things on the first list were nearly as critical and important as those items remaining on list two. But little by little I am getting there.

Stay with me now. 46 days to go…

Big news on the wedding front – I mailed my invitations this morning! I cannot even begin to describe the weight that lifted up off my shoulders the minute these babies hit the bottom of the post box. They have truly been a labor of love.

I came up with the idea for them months and months ago, but I had one hell of a time actually making them come to life. Luckily I have a great crew of family and friends who gave up a Sunday afternoon to help me get a much-needed start, and a fiance willing to sacrifice the dining room for weeks on end so that I could pick these up and abandon them as my sanity wavered.

I don’t want to ruin the element of surprise for any wedding-guest-blog-readers (since I know you’ll be running to the mailbox), so I’ll hold off on posting the details and close-ups for now. But here’s a short photo recap of the project that took over my life for two weeks…

Cutting every single bit of paper piece by piece on the living room floor.
(Note: coffee top left)

Stamping the return envelopes (with my adorable custom-made address stamp!)
and laying them out to dry.

Cutting, punching, gluing, tying, (swearing) with Sarah, Mom, and Lindsey.
(Note: coffee bottom middle)

The dining room’s hostile takeover. (Note: coffee far right)

I asked Indy and Huey to help with stamps, but they we too pooped from their 4 mile run.

Stamping the finished invitations. (Note: coffee has been replaced with jell-o)

The finished product. Hallelujah! I look…tired.

And let me just assure you that, yes, I am paaainfully aware that I am wearing a hoodie and sweatband in every single one of these pictures. Busted. What can I say? I’m training for a marathon and I run every night. I promise I do wear normal clothes when I’m out in public (most of the time).

In addition to the great wedding invitation accomplishments, last night Casey and I also cooked up our healthy Irish St. Patrick’s Day feast!

Shepherd’s Pie (with chicken and mashed cauliflower) and Sweet & Sour Braised Cabbage
(with apples and onions) in the making…

The feast – complete with Emily’s Whole-Wheat Irish Soda Bread – delicious!

And just because I’m on a picture-taking-and-posting kick, here is this morning’s delicious version of apple cinnamon oats. Rather than cooking the apples in the oats as I normally do, this morning I tried something different, and cooked them in a skillet with a bit of cinnamon and splenda. Once they were soft and ready, I plopped them on top of a piping hot bowl of oat bran (new obsession), and topped it all with a drizzle of sugar-free maple syrup. A very satisfying (250-calorie) way to start the day!

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