The End of the Blog? Or Not?

So, even though my wedding is more than four months away, I've already started thinking about the life of this blog post-marriage. I won't be a mindful bride anymore. I won't be looking over invitation fonts and deciding what to do with my hair (my latest concern...thoughts?). Could the blog keep going as it is, should it be stopped, or can I transform it somehow? Thinking about the end of mindfulbride then got me thinking about the end of wedding planning! My initial thought is relief--I'll be married, the process will be over, I'll have SO MUCH more free time! But of course there is the feeling of sadness too, that the wedding and all of its associated excitement is over. I remember when I ran the 10-mile cherry blossom race a few years back. I trained, I mapped out my training schedule on an excel spreadsheet (Ok, fine, Dan did that, complete with color codes), I went to bed early before my runs, I loaded on carbs and hydrated like crazy. When I ran the race, it was awesome! It was a perfect spring day, and I was pumped on adrenaline. Dan, who hadn't really been training, decided to accompany me at the last minute. It was an incredible, incredible time. But then it was over, and I wasn't sure what to do. I don't even remember if I did anything in particular to get out of my post-race phase; getting used to life post-race must have happened so gradually and gracefully I didn't even notice it.

A Piece of Floridian Bliss

This weekend, I was Internet free as I travelled from chilly DC to warm, sunny Florida. Dan and I surprised my grandparents with a visit, caught up with my aunt and uncle (who knew beforehand about our trip), laid on a beach chair while munching on vanilla fudge, and chilled out. We looked at photo albums, read magazines, and chatted over breakfast. The weekend ended with an early morning flight back to the frigid Washington weather. But when the plane landed and I sleepily made sure I had all my bags, I felt like I re-entered reality. Back to the wedding planning and work and cooking dinner (In Florida, there are plenty of other chefs to whip up delicious vegetarian concoctions). But the weekend rejuvenated me. The road ahead continues to twist--with more wedding tasks to check off, more creative thinking to do--and slowly the end comes closer into sight. I enjoy the path, but every now and then it's so nice and healthy and refreshing to step off it for a second, feel the comfort the people close to you, and embrace the warmth of the Florida sun. When you get back on the road, you feel more relaxed and ready to move forward.

A Steelers Fan...For Now

A benefit (albeit a side one) of finding a life partner is that when your sports team falls to 8-8 after an amazing first half of the season (by Redskins standards anyway) and misses the playoff is that you can cheer for your significant other's team. And right now, I am rooting for the Steelers to beat the Cardinals in Tampa. In a way, I'm diversifying my allegiances similar to investors advise you to diversify your funds. Some people will disagree with me: They're cheer-for-one-team kind of people. And so am I...until my team is out and rooting for another won't feel like cheating. So I watched as the Steelers brutally took on the Ravens, while the Pittsburgh fans waved their yellow terrible towels, and I began learning the names and positions of the Stealers players (Hines Ward is a wide receiver, right)? It may sound contradictary to my more mellow personality, but I love cheering for football. And so, as the Super Bowl nears, I'll be a converted and temporary Steelers fan. Are you too? Vote on my new poll at right!!!

Who's Afraid of Change?

In case you were enclosed in a giant hole for the last 18 months, the U.S. Presidential inauguration was yesterday. With the day off work, Dan and I and two friends walked from our apartment to the Washington Monument, where we were greeted by more than a million people cheering, crying, weeping, and celebrating. It was freezing, but amazing. We couldn't see Obama in person, but watched him on the Jumbo Tron. The crowd was captivating. The sea of people embracing change, a new President with a new vision. I've talked before about my fears of change, my concern over the unknown, as the wedding day and marriage approach. But being there yesterday was an extremely powerful reminder of how good change can be. As the country moves forward with our first African American President, I can only hope about how many joys 2009 will bring, in so many ways.

Dreaming of June

It's freezing here in DC.  My 25-minute on foot commute to work yesterday was torture! When I arrived, my cheeks with flushed a deep cherry red, my eyes were watery from the bitter wind, and my hands were one step away from numb (No, I've never been a cold weather person). I stayed inside all day, and even put off leaving work and entering the tundra again, but at least I turned off my computer, packed my bags, and prepared for my exit. As I walked to the gym for a pre-weekend workout, I HAD to think about something else. And so my mind turned to June. The warm weather, the gentle breeze instead of the bracing wind, the sunshine rather than ominous clouds. And, of course, the wedding day. The day that's been on my mind for about eight months now. I still can't picture it. But as I check things off, I get more and more excited about the day. And not only the fact that it will be in the warm weather month of June, although that certainly helps. But the day itself. Sure, there's lots more to do and plan and think about, but right now, I am just excited with the anticipation of it all. In the bitter January cold, the promise of a wedding weekend four and a half months away made the walk home more bearable. 

Time, Time, and More Time

Planning a wedding takes time. Sure, you're thinking, way to overstate the obvious. But it REALLY does. The last few weeks especially have been dominated by securing the cupcake vendor, refining our wedding Web site, and figuring out the invitations. In conversations with family, friends, colleagues, people I randomly meet on the street or in the doctor's office, the wedding comes up. Sometimes it's exhausting to always be thinking about the event. To always have something to do for it. With the wedding beginning to dominate my life, I find it more important to enjoy the process. Relish tasting the red velvet cupcakes topped with a decadent cream cheese icing. Smile as I work on www.themonkeyswedding.com, writing up the narratives of our attendants and posting pictures. Feel the sense of satisfaction when I can check something off the to-do list. But I know I can't ONLY think about the wedding. That will drive me insane. In the coldness of winter, I find going to the gym and walking briskly on the treadmill, while watching the news or a light sitcom, really invigorating. Or going to a gentle yoga class, where I can stretch my body and try to forget about the world around me. Forget about the checklists, the flowers, the wedding food, and just be.

The Artist's Way

As a child, I loved to draw and paint. A favorite picture of me is as a three-year old, with crayons of assorted colors placed between my toes, smiling happily. I took drawing and art classes until middle school, when academics, sports, and a burgeoning social life pushed art to the back burner a bit. I never really returned to art. In high school, I began to channel my creative energies into the written word, trying to build pictures and images with letters and sentences. And I DO love writing, obviously; I wouldn't be a writer by day and a blogger by night if I didn't. But as the wedding process gets more into the weeds--right now we just signed off on a cupcake vendor and are working with them to create a decorative dessert, we are revamping our Web site with additional words and images (check out the new and improved www.themonkeyswedding.com), and are in the midst of designing our wedding invitation. It's overwhelming at times, but really fun. I know that these details are not completely related to the marriage itself...having a multi-tiered cupcake spread doesn't ensure happily ever after. But it's fun to be artistic, to proverbially roll up your sleeves and get down and dirty making the wedding details pretty and uniquely your own.

Letting the World Know!

This week was big in respect to our wedding communication strategy. On Monday, my mom and I had our first meeting with an invitions vendor, where we pored through around 10 thick books of sample invitations. "Ignore the font and color, just focus on the size, shape, and thickness of paper," she advised. We left with a few favorites in hand. During this encounter, I also learned a bit about my own styles. I always felt I was somewhere between traditional and contemporary when it came to wedding design. Nothing too old-fashioned, but nothing too modern and avant garde either. Turns out I am a total comtemporary. I veered toward the boxy (as opposed to rectangular) invitations, text at the bottom half of the page (instead of written across the whole invitation), and shied away from the traditional and classy double-envelope. Who knew? Apparently the invitation vendor. My wrap-around gray cardigan, and my interesting camisole were definite tip-offs, she assured me.
The wedding that I've been talking about with Dan, my parents, and his parents will soon be in people's mailboxes!

The Countdown Begins

Happy New Year! We celebrated at the Rocket Bar in Chinatown, where I renewed my childhood love of skiball, and played a few rounds of shuffleboard. The clock ticked down toward midnight. The TV was tuned to the ball about to drop in Times Square, and the crowd gathered around beginning the countdown. Soon the ball was released, everyone was shouting "3, 2, 1." Suddenly yells of "Happy New Year" pierced the air, and people began hugging and kissing each other. I took a sip of the cheap beer that was included in my $5 cover charge, and thought "Whoa, it's really 2009." Even though the countdown to the new year had ended with bursts of cheers, the ticking down to our wedding and marriage has really intensified. We're now in the same year of our wedding. I met 2009 with a mix of emotions. There's the pure excitement: By the end of this year, I'll be married! There's the concern: Will everything fall into place before June? There's the nostalgia: This is the last few months of single life. There's the wedding picture still fuzzy: What will our wedding really be like? What will marriage be like? I guess there's only one way to find out: write an "X" on days on the calendar as they pass, slowly count the months, the minutes to the wedding, and see how everything unfolds.