wedding bliss
that seems to be my phrase: wedding bliss.
Spring!
the weather has been absolutely gorgeous here in atlanta the last couple of days. i love it! looking forward to spending some time outside on saturday, even if the weatherpeeps are saying it's gonna rain. the spring brings me happiness. and Troy's new job brings me happiness too.meeting denise, steven and the crew down at the lake on saturday morning for work-a-pa-loos-a. it's gonna be a good time. we are very grateful for their willingness to help clean up around the new house.
so until the wedding i'm trying to cut back on eating out, but today was the exception. there's an new jersey mike's which opened close to my work. so cathy and i checked it out today. the sub was really, really good. and they were running a special: buy a medium sub and gets a small drink and chips for free!
i trimmed my finger nails with my scissors because we are going bowling tonight. i like bowling with the ladies from my office. we always have such a good time. i love it.
there's a new episode of the office coming on tonight.
oh - i should've written this bit of news first because i'm super excited about it: we received our first RSVP in the mail today. so at least we are expecting 2 people - my aunt and uncle in sodak. fun times.
got the wedding bill from the church yesterday - nothing unusual on the bill besides the hand-written note near the bottom of the page which said, 'i have not included the fees for the reception area due to the fact that the reception hall may not be completed by your wedding date.'
the braves have lost 2 in a row.
when Troy is not around, i watch a lot more tv.
hopefully zimbabwe can peacefully decide who has won their election - certainly it is not mr. mugabe.
i often use 2 prepositions next to each other in sentences which is a grammatical nightmare. i know better but i do it anyway. so does that make me apathetic or foolish?
been eating yogurt for breakfast and haven't had the urge to eat the donuts from the kitchen. good deterrent. i'm trying to fit into my wedding dress in 2 weeks.
yeah - two weeks i'll be arriving in sioux falls about his time. crazy. we'll be stopping for our marriage license. i'm looking forward to it... can barely wait.
rememberings
ya'll should read this article about this minnesotan family. now that's a trip to remember. i never made it to iringa where the family has been stayin', but some of my friends sponsor compassion kids from there. the world seems so much smaller after i've been there and experienced life as an african for about 6 months.here's an example. the other day i was walking out of the grocer and noticed a ink pen laying on the ground. nothing unusual for here in the States, but that's unusual for Tanzania. in Tanzania, anyone who saw that pen would be reaching down and snatching it up. it would've been used for school work. it would have been thought of a true treasure. i would have picked it up if i were in tanzania too, but i'm not there any more, and i walked right by the pen on the ground. yet, the instant i walked by, i realized that i have become american again, and part of me breaks at that thought. i lean down for money of every type, but not a pen. how selfish and ridiculous at the same time.
i miss life in tanzania. i miss flora and her beautiful, sparkly eyes and amazing smile. i miss my friends from class who struggled with english while i struggle with swahili. i miss maggie, the friend who is trying to get enough money to attend school. i sent her a little money this week and i got this text message back from her: 'Hi! I dont know which words i can use to thank u. thank you so much for the money u sent 4 my schoool fees. i pray that God will add the things u have twice.' what an amazing thank you note. when was i last that grateful for money or for something that someone did for me? (well, troy has done some incredibly nice thing for me lately, and my friends threw an amazing shower...)
i remember all that laundry i washed by hand in my bucket while in africa. now i push a couple of buttons, toss in some detergent and that's about it. i miss the interaction with the other ladies who were washing their clothes at the same time. i miss rinsing my clothes under the hydrant, and hanging them on the line. i remember the storm that came thru and knocked down the clothes line - then the guys repaired it. i remember the time i was hanging up my clothes and the green mambo fell from the tree above me. i remember sitting outside near the clothes line using my laptop with skype to call some friends in the States when i was lonely. i remember one specific phone call with denise which still brings me a little mixed happiness/sadness.
my friend, japheth, got married in a church wedding last weekend. i talked to him on friday, and he was a little nervous. he's a great guy, and mirianne from switzerland landed a big fish when she captured his heart. i pray blessings upon their marriage. i remember japheth telling me about his lovely mirianne and how he missed her so much. his heart was set on that girl for many years, and finally they decided to get married. they have a cool story of how they met in england. this world ain't as big as it seems when a kenyan meets a swiss and they fall in love in england.
hey, Troy, sorry that i don't use caps. you're gonna have to get used to it, i'm afraid.
i've fallen into bridezilla mode this week - and i'm chop chopping on these wedding plans. my friends should be proud of how much i've accomplished in the last couple of days. i didn't know that it was in me, but it has risen from the depths. now i know i have a photographer, the invitations are ready, i sent out emails about the georgian reception, my dress has been shipped, and i've spoken with kristi, the wedding planner, from so.dak. so this wedding really is gonna take place, and at the end of the day on may 10th, i'm hoping that i will be wed to mr. troy s. brown. that's my goal, anyway.
i survived!
so i was embarrassed at times, but mostly - i was so glad that many people turned out for my shower that it was well worth the uncomfortableness of revealing the gifts from their highly decorated gift bags. i received wondeful gifts... even the embarrassing ones are great. not sure any of the photos may be posted in this blog.enjoyed the day south of atlanta with part of troy's family. deanna, troy's mom, celebrated her birthday at la parrilla with us for lunch. troy has some great photos of her reaction when the servers all gathered around to sing a little feliz cumpleanos.
shower
so my bridal shower is tomorrow. some things about it, i'm looking forward to. somethings i am NOT. my co-workers are gonna throw me under the bus. my poor church lady friends will die. it's gonna be a great clash of interests, and i will be loving every minute of it. i'm looking forward to the punch and cake. did i mention yet that i have amazing friends/co-workers/to-be-in-laws? it's gonna be a hoot!i've woke up in the middle of the night for 2 nights now with a charley horse. last night i nearly cried because the muscle would not relax. waking up at 4.02 with sharp pains in my left calf is not very joyful. so after i'm married and experience one of these charley horses in the middle of the night - is it too much to ask the honey to massage my leg at 4.02am? just checking.
Being Loved
so i was sitting in church this morning... listening to the lyrics to a song... sometimes during church i stand silently, listening to the words without actually speaking them. there's something heart-warming about listening to others say the words in unison. anyway, a thought hit me:when i know i am loved, i don't need to prove anything.
then i started thinking about things which i try to prove, and who i try to prove them to. God has used troy to demonstrate His love for me over and over. troy has a special way of creating a safe place for me to say whatever is on my heart. and not only does he make that safe place, but he draws the conversation out of me. i've not known many people who can do that. i tend to hold back what's on my heart, simply because i don't feel like what's going on in me is worth sharing with others. so troy (and Jesus) are teaching me that i am loved, it's ok to share about my life, and that i sometimes fail to accept the love given by others. so those are my current lessons.
i have 3 words to say, and you can pray over them: baby momma drama. God will know what's going on.
car buying
my father should be proud. nothing like the joys of negotiating prices of cars. we give a figure which we're willing to pay. the car salesman says that number is a little low. so we walk out. then the salesman calls back in a few days, says he'd would like to sell us a car, but isn't willing to come down quite as much as we are willing to pay. he could get us in a used car for the amount we are willing to offer, tho. so i hang up and wait for the next call. that's where we are right now - waiting for the next call.'blog-worthy'
there are times thru-out my day when i think, 'man, that's so blog-worthy.' but when it's time to update this blog, i can't seem to remember what was so blog-worthy. maybe that's a sign of old age.oh, the cleaning ladies came to my office last night. i love when they come and take out my trash and vacuum the floor.
helped troy to paint some concrete last weekend. we painted a quarter of the wall concrete color. really. the paint color is pretty much an exact match to the gray-ish color of concrete. we didn't finish because it started raining. we made the most of it by grabbing some chairs, sitting outside under the awning, and just enjoying the rain and each other's company. what a lovely saturday afternoon.
so the building where our south dakotan reception is to be held is scheduled to be completed a week before the big day (may 10th). yep, you read that right. the building isn't actually built yet. it's in the process and from the sounds of it, it is coming along nicely. and... the house where our georgian reception is to be held is scheduled to be completely about 3 weeks before the big day (may 17th). what's the deal with new buildings and these receptions? i'm really looking forward to both events and the building where these events will take place.
there's something about this website which i'm addicted to.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
