well, contrary to my direst suspicions, i'm not, in fact, insane, nor even going in that general direction...
and each one of you knew that already.
oh, me of little faith.

it's true that every minute seems full to the point of exploding, but right when i think it's about to, it doesn't. thanks for keeping me anchored in reality, guys!

i have some exciting tidbits to share!

#1: my wedding dress came in and i tried it on for the first time!!! it needs some alterations, and my flabby arms are right there in that need, but it's so beautiful. i never would have imagined myself in such a dress. people say, 'you only wear it once,' then some roll their eyes at the expense, but really, wearing something that incredibly exquisite can only happen one day. if i were to wear it any other day of my life it would be cheapened somehow.
i'm perfectly content with its one day of glory.
and that day is less than a month away!! can you believe it?!

#2: casey, erica, allison and i are going on a roadtrip to chicago!! we're leaving monday morning and coming back thursday night. it will be whirlwindish beyond compare, but it will also be so great to spend quality girl time experiencing a new city. i'm almost afraid there will be too many cool things and i won't be able to take them all in. some people say when they go to europe, the art loses its magic because there's SO MUCH of it! first of all, i can't imagine that happening, in all honesty, and secondly, if that sort of thing does happen, i hope it's not the case on our chicago trip.
we plan on taking the chicago trolley hop-on-hop-off bus one day and visiting art museums the next day. really we're just there two full days, so we thought this would be the best way to pack in as much as possible. then maybe in the evenings we can enjoy some of the foods chicago's known for.

#3: right after we girls get back from chicago, my lovely parents will be arriving to spend the 3 weeks before the wedding here in branson, helping out with wedding plans and on dad and nick's part, doing some camping and fishing.
i'm looking forward to their visit.

#4: nick & i decided on our honeymoon destination -- we're officially going to kansas city! we have our hotel and everything. we figured that'd be a good spot since it's not too far away (4 hours) so we wouldn't waste time traveling. it's also a spot we can easily return to in the future so we won't feel bad if we just want to take time to rest and relax and not be out trotting through all the sites.

#5: also right after returning from chicago, we'll find out if the refinancing is a go. i'm looking forward to hearing one way or the other so we can make plans accordingly. keep your fingers crossed that it goes through, though! we'd love to not only be able to pay for wedding things, but also put some of the money back into the house since nick & i will be staying here. this house needs a little tlc, that's for sure.

i suppose that's enough tidbits for now. they're getting less and less exciting as i go along... my #6 was going to be that i have some sort of ailment that's plaguing me, but that's not exciting at ALL! and then right after that i would have told you about mohinder's horrible diseased skin -- he looks like he has leprosy right now, it's repulsive. i feel so bad for the feller. the vet thinks it's an allergic reaction to something or other and put him on some antibiotics. but to diagnose this, they had to shave his fur all around the affected area, so now half of his neck is bald!
he looks pitiful.

i think i'll stop before i get any further from 'exciting tidbits' :-)

thanks for all of your encouragement, guys. it really is good to be reminded to take it easy and not worry. god has things firmly in hand.


p.s. last depressing bit of news, i promise: i'm once again camera-less! the camera i was using belonged to the blue eye art classroom, and i had to leave it behind! sad day.
you'll just have to be satisfied with long newsy posts with no visual stimuli. oh, and perhaps the occasional stock photo.
how's this -- some of my favorite images from snippet & ink inspiration boards. after looking at all 200 she's ever made, i collected my favorite aspects here and there, and have now created my OWN wedding inspiration board for your viewing pleasure!

some of these are actual elements in the wedding though, not just inspiration pieces.
i.e. the green dress will be worn by miss allison hamm, the fabrics fanned out are going to be sewn into table runners by my lovely mother and that girl will be playing me in the movie coming out next spring, 'nick and kate's wedding of bliss'. it's sure to be a blockbuster hit. i mean, come on, check out those dewy lips.