Croatia and Paris, Here We Come!

The tickets are in our hands (proverbially speaking of course...they really exist as electronic documents in Dan's email inbox). Our honeymoon travel plans are set! Dan, with his undying patience, navigated through muddy waters and difficult customer service agents to use frequent flier miles to buy our plane tickets. And so, we are off. Well, in a few months we'll be off. We both love traveling, and with the tickets in our possesion (again proverbially), excitement is bubbling up inside. A vacation! A chance to visit a new country, lay on the beaches, walk in the national parks, wonder through the cities, and, for at least part of the time, do nothing and have no cares in the world. And, as an added bonus, our flight has a day layover in Paris on the front end. We've both been to Paris--the last time for me was in 2004, where I strolled in the art musems, ate hazelnut crapes on a sideway cafe, and bought a fabulous, fuchsia colored, watering can shaped purse (I now have two). Paris is dubbed the most romantic city in the world, and while I am not to usually one to fall for cliches, the idea of stepping foot in it as a newlywed is truly enchanting (Although I haven't forgotten the other cliche that rang true about Paris when I was there--people are rude!). Regardless, we are going!!

Perfection's Overrated!

When I was younger and learning to needlepoint on a small netted canvas with a pattern of a flower, I was judicious about making sure my yellow stitches matched up with the yellow petal painted on the fabric. If my yellow yarn ventured outside of the petal's lines, I quickly undid the stitch. My grandmother, who was teaching me, encouraged me not to worry if I didn't follow the pattern exactly. Any mistakes I made, she said, would make my needlepoint truly my own. I think about that story often as we plan our wedding. A perfect wedding is depicted in the movies and in the wedding magazines. But with so many details juggling in the air, perfection seems unattainable. And honestly, mistakes can be underrated. Like the mistaken stitches on the needlepoint, little problems can make a special day unique. At my Bat Mitzvah, Washington, D.C. was hit with a massive snow storm. Whiteness covered the city for a week. Flights were cancelled. Roads were impassible. Guests were unable to attend. Chairs sat empty. The band couldn't play, so we brought in a boom box (I think that's what they were called then) and my 17-year old friend with good taste in music filled in as DJ. In some ways, it would have been better without the snow, with the band and missing guests. But it's more memorable, more unique this way.

25 Things

So, as anyone who has been on Facebook in the last week or so can attest, the "25 random things" lists are running wild, where people scribble down the most interesting, unique, factoids about themselves. The trend is so intense that an article in the Washington Post came out, dismissing this nonsense and calling it a self-absorbed activity. In protest, I ask "What's wrong with a little self-focus every once in a while?" So I've been thinking about my list, and decided that instead of Facebook, I'd post it here (items are in no particular order):


1. I love blogging (obvi). The combination of writing about something that's interesting to me, using electronic technologies, and getting informal feedback on my entries is exhilarating


2. If I had to choose between blistering summer humidity and freezing winter weather, the heat would win every time


3. I spent two years in Japan, sampling all sorts of culinary dishes and now have an undying love for most Asian foods


4. I love words, letters, sentences. I always underestimate the power of the written word.


5. I love packing up my bags and heading out on a foreign adventure. I wish I could travel more


6. Yoga keeps me sane and balanced. My time away because of an injury was incredibly frustrating


7. Humor is my defense mechanism. I joke when I am nervous and upset.


8. I hate confrontation, but usually whenever I have one, it's much better than it seems


9. I am starting to take up biking. Now all I need is a bike.


10. I can be awkward at times (and then make awkward jokes, per #7)


11. My favorite minor splurge is a pedicure where I can sit in a massage chair and let all the cares in the world disappear. I love it! Plus, you can choose bolder nail polish colors for your feet than your hands.


12. I hate olives, but love olive oil.


13. I am marrying someone who does not appreciate fine cheeses. The fact that I was able to accept this *flaw* must mean it's true love


14. I was worried about planning our wedding, but actually I've enjoyed the process a lot more than I thought I would. The details have not consumed me, and my creative juices are flowing.


15. There is no vegetable I don't like. Try me.

16. I love inside jokes, and then trying to explain them to an "outsider" and they look at me like I am crazy. My brother and I have this tonsilitis joke that I have tried to explain Dan so many times and he still doesn't get it!

17. I am extremely emotional.

18. My favorite flower is a bright yellow sunflower. I am convinced sunflowers have an instant "cheer up" quality

19. I have a very hearty laugh, which I love to use. I have been known to fall down to the floor laughing (ask anyone who was at the 2005 pubs dinner in Orlando).

20. Mangoes are my favorite fruit, although I hate when they are underripe. A juicy mango is a real treasure.

21. Yogurt is my favorite food as a whole. I have probably have one a day.

22. I can stroll in bookstores for hours, remembering the good books I've read and getting ideas for future reading endeavors

23. Same with sitting at coffeeshops. I can sit, sip a warm drink, and read a book or the newspaper, play bananagrams, or just talk with a good friend

24. I have an abundance of cardigans. Off the top of my head, I have three gray, two black, two cream, one green...the list could go on

25. Honestly, this was a lot harder than I thought. It took me several days to think about all the random things about myself. Am I not that random?

Thoughts on Valentines

So, I know, I'm a little late. I'm four days behind in writing about the romantic holiday known as Valentines' Day. I was apart from Dan, who is still in South Africa, and traveled to Richmond to spend time with my friend Eileen and her husband (yes, I intruded on their V-day. It was great! They insisted they didn't mind, and I believe them). Until recently, I never liked the holiday. I think because I remember never having a Valentine during most of my awkward teenage years. So even when Dan and I started dating--and I knew I'd have a Valentine--I half-heartedly embraced the holiday. I bought him a card, he gave me flowers, and we'd usually spend the night at the gym or a yoga studio. But recently, I've begun to appreciate the holiday a bit more. Perhaps my adolescent bitterness has mellowed like a fine wine. I like watching men on the metro on February 14th, holding a bouquet of multi-colored flowers in their hands. I like strolling in stationery stores, reading the funny and sentimental cards as I chose which one to buy. The holiday, in aggregate, I enjoy. Watching people take a little time to recognize those important in their lives.

Home Alone

As I mentioned in my last post, Dan is away for working in South Africa. Suddenly our cozy, slightly crowded apartment seems quiet and unnaturally spacious. There is no sounds of sports television shows reporting on the latest scores or scandals, and no need to put four pieces of bread in the toaster each morning: two will suffice now. I haven't lived alone since my Japan days, where I had a one-bedroom inches away from the heart of downtown smalltown. I liked living alone then. I could get up in the morning, do some yoga or stretches, eat a bowl of imported cereal while catching up on the online version of the Washington Post. After work, I could relax, make dinner for myself, watch DVDs on my computer or cuddle up with a good book. Friends were in my apartment complex, so there was usually someone to talk to. But it did get lonely at times. Being abroad itself was isolating at times, and not having someone to share your day and your meals with was sometimes hard. Living alone in DC is of course not as hard--friends to talk to, work constantly keeping me busy, dinners a bit more make-shift but still substantial. I've delved into the DVD of the second season of How I Met Your Mother, enjoying the 20-minute episodes after a long day of work. But I miss the sports shows.

So Much to Write, So Little Space

I realize I haven't written in a while, and really, it's because there is so much to say. So many topics to uncover and blog about. It's hard to pick just one. The invitations have been ordered, their quasi modern design (a square invitation, rather than a rectangle...postage is more expensive, but you pay for modernity) being created as I type. The hotel for our guests has been selected, rates negotiated, and contract completed. All we need are some guests now. The new band has been found, listened to, and signed with. The honeymoon plans are on hold until my world traveling fiancee comes back from South Africa, and we can put the frequent flier miles he's amassed toward our Croatian adventure. My veil has arrived, and now I wait anxiously for my dress to come in. I still need shoes, a hair style, and a make-up artist. There's more that's been checked off, and more that's left to do. I find myself feeling a range of emotions: excited, tired, curious, happy. Sometimes I look forward to being finished with the wedding planning process, and sometimes I think I'll miss it. I wonder what I'll do next...what project. And, even as the wedding pieces come together, I still can't imagine what picture they'll produce come actual wedding day.

The Last Adventure?

As a kid, I loved roller coasters. The amusement park rides that just spun around and around made me dizzy, but I would wait in the roller coaster's hour-long line without question. The slow, anticipation filled-ride up the first hill of the roller coaster was followed by an immediate downhill spiral, and then a series of up and down, left and right moves. I would off the ride, exhausted by exhilarated, my hair disheveled, my stare wide-eyed, and my smile deep and profound. That adventurous spirit never left me, as I travelled to Ecuador as a teenager, Prague as an undergrad, and Japan for two years post-college. But on the brink of marriage and my 30s debut (the big 3-0 is 13 months away and I am already painfully aware), I know that some adventures might stop. I'm more cognizant of consequences, more tied down to the daily routine of writing my articles at work and going to the gym, or out to drinks with a friend, afterwards. But lately I've been thinking that marriage is not my last adventure--it could be my biggest. Full of excitement, surprises, challenges sure, but also rewards. As I prepare for this new phase of my life, I am looking back to my previous adventures to remember how much happiness I got from them.

The Wedding of my Dreams

I swear, I think the wedding is beginning to affect me more while I am asleep than awake. Last night I was again deep in what can only be described as A REALLY WEIRD dream. Instead of the DC wedding I have been planning, our wedding was in Croatia (our honeymoon locale), but to get there, my parents, Dan, and I flew to Yugoslavia, where we stayed at the house of a couple we found on craigslist. It was in the middle of the worst rain storm ever, and so the couple (who were very trendy and arte noveau, and had an adorable eight-year-old daughter) decided they would drive us to a train station to get to Croatia for the ceremony. They took us in their car, where we feared for our life and I worried that we wouldn't make the train to Croatia, and Dan and I would return to the US, unmarried. Turns out we would return unwed, because we kept calling and calling our Croatian wedding venue, but couldn't get through. We eventually all assumed they were closed because of the terrible, terrible rainfall. And so, sadly, we gave up on marriage and drove to West Virginia. (Apparently you can drive from Yugoslavia to West Virginia). I was pressuring everyone for us to just go to the first wedding chapel we could find, although I am not sure how it ended because I had to get up for work. I have nothing else to say.