<p>missypie~thanks for posting that. inspiring. good reminder for all of us.</p>
<p>I obviously loved the autistic sal piece or I wouldn’t have posted it…but seeing the classmates cheer for the kid, as a mom of an Aspie who was friendless in elem school, I can’t help wondering if the other kids were always so supportive. Wonder when he was transformed in the minds of his classmates from weird outcast to cool kid? (Although Son was never considered “cool” by a longshot, once he got into the G/T classes in middle school, his social issues lessened quite a bit. In those classes (and in his HS AP classes) he was certainly never the quirkiest kid in the room.)</p>
<p>Thanks for the link missypie. Made me tear up!</p>
<p>Had some Bridezilla moments today with D1. sigh…I may have to go off my diet and have drinks tonight… please send positive thoughts for me to stay strong!</p>
<p>Zetisis…haven’t heard how the wedding plans at your house are going. We need to talk!</p>
<p>Too bad about the Bridezilla moments and too bad wine has calories!</p>
<p>D and I are off on Sunday morning for the Idiot’s College Road Trip. I planned the trip carefully, making sure no day’s drive was more than 5 hours. But then one school couldn’t take us on the day I planned, so I reworked the trip…but in doing that, I didn’t realize that the first day’s drive was going to be 8 hours! I don’t think I’ve ever personally driven more than five hours. D is going to have to help!</p>
<p>Ahh…wonder if you can mainline wine??? 
(Is that what they call it???)</p>
<p>It’s such a pity that all those pills that are wonderfully relaxing are supposedly very addictive…no calories.</p>
<p>Spew! Thanks for making me laugh missypie!</p>
<p>NM – wedding is in 3 weeks. We are remarkably unflustered, but then I forget everything I’ve already done (got the photographer, florist, caterer, etc.). There’s just not much for us to do at this point … </p>
<p>D has been amazingly non-bridezilla-ish. She did however nix the Tiki torches for the (outdoor garden) reception. I don’t know if things are made better/worse by the fact that she’s in Colorado (arrives on Thursday) and we’re here (in LA). Last night, however, I was dithering about which shade of overlay to use for the tables, and D2 (the maid of honor) said, “Does it really matter?” Nope. It doesn’t.</p>
<p>The reception is at my parents’ house, but we are having it catered. This means there’s essentially nothing for us to do. Tables/chairs etc. will all be delivered; caterer sets everything up; we are supplying the (very simple) centerpiece/arrangements for the table.</p>
<p>My mother needs something to do. She wants to fidget and poke and help. I suggested she locate votive candles for the tables … My Dad has been working on getting the yard ready. Considering a year ago this time he was in the hospital for valve replacement surgery – and spend 7 weeks there, plus multiple after surgeries, including one for cancer – I just think it’s wonderful that they wanted to host this and are looking forward to doing it.</p>
<p>NM, best of luck to you!</p>
<p>I love hearing about weddings. Zetesis, you are the kind of client my husband would love to work with. Sorry to hear about Bridezilla, NM, and I honestly don’t think a glass or two of wine would be the end of the world. </p>
<p>I am excited with my job search- I have an interview on Monday (hooray) and have had some informational discussions with another company I am interested in (mainly networking with some folks I know). But I am doing far more than I’ve ever done before- I want to find a career I want and can grow in instead of a job finding me. So we’ll see. </p>
<p>Highlight of D’s day- presenting a slide during the weekly lab meeting. Hooray! I feel vindicated- she didn’t think what she was doing was all that important.</p>
<p>D has a job! Not much but it pays money. Ok - she is just sitting for a 11 and 13 year old boys 2 or 3 days a week but its 8 hours a day. It will give her some spending money for next year at school. Just happy that she will has something to do!! Being bored she is driving us nuts. </p>
<p>The weddings sound lovely. Nothing like that here. Oldest still has 4 years of college. Hope he finishes before getting married. I just think that easiest.</p>
<p>I love the wedding talk, too. </p>
<p>Eggson landed a parttime job, but boss has been scheduling him for extra shifts. </p>
<p>Last night (after 2 weeks of 40 hours) DS grumbled: “I need more than 2 days off. I have a life!”</p>
<p>HA! No sympathy here.</p>
<p>Good luck with the wedding planning, NM and Zetesis! </p>
<p>Twenty-one years ago today H and I were married in the backyard of my parents’ house. The rhododendron my father planted that spring have flourished since then (even though he’s no longer here to enjoy them, they are a nice reminder of the day and of him).</p>
<p>I also love the wedding talk. Does anybody watch “Say Yes to the Dress”? I like to watch it and I guess I am thinking about what it will be like for Odessagirl. </p>
<p>Sabaray - Good luck on the job hunt. We will be in VA next weekend - Skyline Drive. So peaceful there. We are hoping to see a bear. Aren’t you in Virginia? Or maybe I have you mixed up with Analyst…</p>
<p>NM - Have that drink - or 2!</p>
<p>The frenzy of packing continues downstairs in D’s room. Happily H has taken over the supervisory (or shall I say the labor) duties. Yikes. </p>
<p>Eddie, I love “The Dress”. So nice to dream. Analyst and I are both Virginians- I live very close to Skyline Drive. I hope you have a nice weekend for a visit and you may very well see a bear! Are you camping or do you have a cabin? Hopefully it won’t be too warm- supposed to be 92 degrees tomorrow!</p>
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<p>D has worked 4 weeks of her internship, and has lamented “I have no life” and “My summer’s over” and even “I’m wasting my summer.”</p>
<p>I don’t feel that sympathetic either; I point out it’s a 10 week gig – and she has 3 - 4 weeks in August off; I don’t add “that’s more than most people get.” No use rubbing salt into the wounds …</p>
<p>Having said all that, she will also admit she’s learning a ton (and making at least a decent wage); lamenting the passing of those summers off though …</p>
<p>Welcome to real life, kids! :)</p>
<p>Son should be emerging from the wilderness tomorrow. We have no way to get ahold of him (or he us, for that matter), but I must be evolving because last year when they did this I was a nervous wreck!</p>
<p>I love “Say Yes to the Dress” but also get very frustrated with people who spend so much on a dress when it’s clear they should have better priorities. One girl last night was on dress #3! Why would anyone need three dresses especially because she couldn’t really pay for it and her future husband was a fireman!!! And now there is a new show where three wedding designers compete for a couple’s wedding. THe good news is it offers some unique ideas I suppose, the bad news is that even though the couple had a relatively modest budget (18k), the wedding planners are getting such huge discounts on things that it’s not like you can really apply these things to that kind of budget. Venues that rent for 10-20k would not exactly be on the dance card. I honestly have no idea what kind of budget we’d have for D’s wedding as I don’t know how much any of it costs to begin with! I mean, sure you could spend a million but how does one determine how much a wedding MIGHT cost. Also watching Bethenny getting married on Bravo… but again, they aren’t really talking in numbers.</p>
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<p>LOL, I was just going to post that!!! After she talked the poor guy into paying more for the third dress she said “What Baby wants baby gets.” D said, “Does she know she is saying that on TV?” And the couple already had a two year old! Back in the day there would have been no white wedding dress. (“And for my 19th birthday, got a union card and wedding coat…”)</p>
<p>My wedding reception was in my husband’s parents back yard. The stories I could tell! (I"ll just say that when it came time to buy wedding pictures, they instisted that we pay for theirs to compensate them for all the extra water they had to use over the summer to keep the grass green and the flowers alive.)</p>
<p>The wedding talk is fun, I am just glad that I am not paying for it. D loves to watch those wedding shows, and I keep telling her “we went expensive on the college, so we’re going cheap on a wedding”. Famous last words, huh? :)</p>
<p>Happy anniversary, peonies!</p>
<p>Re: “Baby gets what baby wants.” They have a 3-year old! Isn’t that supposed to be the baby? Ugh. And quite honestly? She did not have the body for the mermaid dress. Of course, the dress of the NYC bride that accentuated the hips in a french renaissance way wasn’t exactly a favorite either. Still… and although the taxes of NYC would be a little much… I think it would be fun to go there to shop!</p>