We’re down to the double digits until the wedding! In the past couple of months I have found that time seems to be doing strange things. When I think, “99 days till the wedding!” it seems simultaneously like forever to wait to get married and an extraordinary short time until the wedding day.

Gilbert finds it very easy to keep track of how many days we have left because there are large digital signs around Lexington which are counting down the days until the beginning of the world equestrian games, which happens to start the day before our wedding. Very convenient.

This past week we had a consultant come out to talk to us. We took him out to the wedding field where we stood in the blazing hot sun talking about tent sizes until Mogie suggested we sit at the picnic table in the shade. It sounds like it’s all coming together. He’s supposed to be sending me some more information and layout plans soon.

We are also supposed to be meeting with our caterer sometime soon, probably next week. Now we need to investigate flowers and music. I’ve had some wonderful offers of help from various people that are going to make the wedding so much more special. Three cousins are playing the wedding march, multiple friends and relatives including my grandmother are making cookies, a cousin is making the little cake and cupcakes as my wedding present, my former FFA chapter is going to loan me an arbor, cousins are doing my hair and makeup and their mom is going to help with the sound system and music. If you think it sounds like a lot of cousins are helping out, let me remind you that I have 24 first cousins alone and live within five minutes of numerous second, third, and fourth cousins. I like it that way.

It is a sunny spring morning and Mogie and I will be going on a walk in a little while. These days our walks often take us around the hayfield where the wedding ceremony and reception are going to be held. One day I told Mogie I was very excited at the thought of having so many of my friends and family together in the same place, both sides of my family, college friends, Mt. Eden friends, Peace Corps friends... Mogie thought about it for a moment and then said, “Yeah! When else does that happen besides your funeral?”

Gilbert is being a good sport about my long rambling tangents about mini-sandwiches and first dance song options. In fact he recently told me he never imagined planning his wedding would be so fun. As long as he feels that way I think the process is going quite well.

This afternoon we are going apartment hunting. The place we found online that we like the best is having a winter sale. We like it because it has a fireplace and a washer and dryer, not to mention a little lake and some green space. If we get our names on the waiting list before Wednesday we’ll still be in on the winter sale deal even if we don’t start moving in until September.

In non wedding related news I have a job grading tests at UK for the next month or so. That’s very exciting news because I’m taking another grad school class starting this Thursday. My last two classes went well. I hope we get our grades sometime soon.
Campbellsville’s satellite grad school program is a bit on the strange side. Classes run just about all year long. There is a trimester system and then there are summer classes offered as well. The whole idea is to get through grad school as quickly as possible which is nice but a bit intense.

It looks like it’s about time to go on our walk. I hope you all have a bit of sunshine to enjoy wherever you are today!

Quote of the Day:
“The brownies were made with butter so eat up!”- Mogie (after a lunchtime discussion about why butter is better for you than margarine)

I’m engaged!!!!!!!!! I should probably have led up to that in some sort of sneaky fashion. But when I am so excited I’m out of bed at 6:45 in the morning I care nothing for sneaky and want to get straight to the heart of the matter.

Here’s the story: Yesterday morning Gilbert wrote me and told me that he woke up groggy and wished he had some more of the chai that my parents gave him for Christmas. At lunch time he e-mailed again and said that the only place he could find that had chai was the Indian market next to the restaurant where we met for our first date. See it coming? I didn’t!

I go to Lexington every Tuesday so we can watch LOST together and we were excited because yesterday it was nice enough to go for a walk before we ate supper. After some debate we decided to have Italian and after we ate we went to Target to run errands. I had a headache so I was looking forward to getting back to Gilbert’s place where I could close my eyes for a little bit before LOST started. He asked if I felt well enough to go get some chai. I said I was (although I really just wanted to stay in the car.) I did perk up a little as we drove into the parking lot because it always makes me happy to remember the first time I saw Gilbert. I reminded him of it as we pulled into the shopping center, “See that’s where I first saw you, leaning against that window.”

We went into the little Indian market and got the chai. I was looking forward to being able to sit down and rest my eyes but as we walked out to the car he said, “This is where I first saw you!” He stopped in the middle of a parking space. I stopped too and gave him a hug and kiss and then kept walking toward the car.

“And one other thing,” he said from behind me. I turned around and there he was on one knee with the ring box opened. I was so shocked! I was expecting it to happen sometime in the next couple of weeks but I really was not expecting it right then and there. I’m really ridiculously happy.

Preemptive answers:

The ring is beautiful and is being sized right now but Gilbert is going to bring it to me this afternoon. There will be pictures!

We haven’t discussed dates or anything specific yet but I will be posting here to keep you all updated.

Other questions? Let me know!

Other things that make me happy:

• Cooking a Hawaiian themed meal at Gilbert's apartment and then watching LOST with him.
• Getting an "awesome" on my mid-term. (Yes, there was a number grade as well, but "awesome" is always the best way to be graded.)
• Going to a counseling seminar for two days with a bunch of friends from school.
• Having a job interview for a job I would actually enjoy.
• Having Boo home for the weekend.
• Listening to books on CD in the car.
• The fact that Eloise is still running.  I think this may have been the longest she has ever gone without having to go to the garage.  *knock on wood*
• DId I mention Gilbert?  Ok, just checking.:)

 

I’m listening to the London Philharmonic play “Crazy Little Thing Called Love.” I accidently bought it from iTunes while trying to purchase the original Queen recording but now I have to admit that I really like this version as well. It’s a cloudy January day but it is not supposed to rain and happily it is going to be a very warm day, almost 60! I know we’ve still got over a month of winter left but I have to say I am already looking forward to spring. I think I may celebrate by going for a walk.

I have various things to report including my enjoyment of both of my classes. How fun to be learning things that I know I will be finding ways to use for the rest of my life. I’ll be giving two presentations one on crisis care with a few other students and another on ethnicity and the family all by myself. I think I need movie clips!

Yesterday Mogie and I went to Lexington for our weekly tutoring session with the Nepalis. It is a mutually beneficial arrangement. They get to learn a little English, Mogie practices her Nepali and we all get amusing cross cultural experiences. Sometimes one man will be so overwhelmed by the absurdity of trying to say, “What is your name?” that he will start to laugh first a chuckle and then a breathless chortle. The rest of us rock with laughter as well as he wheezes for breath trying to ask the question again.

Today through a random chain of links I found out that the US ice skating duo of Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto have preformed a routine based on Moldovan folk dance. It makes me so happy whenever I run into a mention of Moldova even if they call it “Moldavia.” I want to cheer and say, “Hurrah! A few more people found out Moldova exists today!”

I wouldn’t blame you at all if you had given up on this little blog. In fact I have given serious consideration to the idea that my blogging days may have run their course. But I have realized with serious shock and dismay that in this time that I have not been writing I have also not been creative in any other aspect of my life.

Sure, I’ve cooked a bit. (There’s a whole story about failed fudge making attempts that should comfort anyone else facing what has always been their own personal cooking Waterloo.)

I’ve renewed and refreshed long and valuable friendships. Lamai came to visit a couple of weeks ago and we spent three days talking almost non-stop while housebound by a whole 2 inches of snow.

Grad school has begun. My first class was Monday night. I enjoyed the whole four hours and am looking forward to tonight’s class which is an introduction to Family Studies. I am thrilled to be pursing my dream and more than a little anxious to get a job so that I can pay for it.

Most importantly I’ve spent time with Gilbert, with his family and with my family, on weekends and on weekdays. We’ve played countless games, watched ridiculous movies, and read each other’s book recommendations. We’ve gone to church together and to a Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert in Rupp Arena which was spectacular in every sense of the word. Big events and little moments, we share them and that makes me incredibly happy.

But, I am a creative person and all of these activities and people and stresses and joys have added up to me ignoring that side of myself. Fortunately I am a devoted reader of some very creative people’s blogs. Kyle Cassidy is a photographer who is always in search of creative things to do and creative people to collaborate with. He took advantage of the fact that he had no heat in his house during the snow storm in Philly to have his wife (a stage actress) pose for some pictures. That’s what I mean, some people think, “My house is freezing! I must snuggle up to the heater and not move until it get warmer!” Then there are those who think, “My house is freezing! Let’s go outside and take pictures in the snow!” Kyle often ends his posts with an entreaty that his readers, “Go be awesome!”

I’m not sure I’m up to claiming that I am pursuing awesomeness but I am definitely going to make putting the creative and extraordinary into my life a much higher priority in the coming months.

Let’s see what happens!

(We're doing this in segments to keep me posting.)

If my family’s Thanksgiving reunion will not inspire you to open up your laptop and start writing then I am not sure what will.

Every other year over 30 of us meet up at my family’s church camp for a few days of ridiculous games, lots of food, laughter, and a murder mystery. I arrived at camp on the Wednesday evening before Thanksgiving with a car full of bedding and food. I kinda enjoyed having the camp by myself for a little while. I spent so much time there as a child and teenager that I have a nice comfortable familiar feeling when I sit in the dining hall. Although, I have noticed that the dining hall has shrunk considerably since I was seven years old. The walk from one of the back tables to the kitchen used to be a long one. That’s not so true anymore.

I spent a while hanging out and unloading Eloise and then the Fosters arrived to keep me company. Uncle Jeff and I hunkered down by the radio and listened to the UK game, alternately cheering and glaring at the radio. It went into overtime but then we won so Uncle Jeff and I felt that we contributed something to the team’s success.

I was awakened about 2:00 in the morning by the Waggoner’s arrival and Tesha swooping in to hug me and then I was out again.

The next morning was full of catching up with various relatives. I brought a bunch of pictures of Caleb and he was duly admired and praised. (As he should be!) There were stories of trips to Ecuador, school plays, grad school interviews, art projects, college classes, strange counseling experiences and much more.

My December calendar is filling up at an alarming rate. I have three job interviews in the next three weeks. Somewhere in there I will also have my grad school interview. I’ve been playing phone tag with various people at Campbellsville for the past week or so. In fact I’ve been calling and writing so much that Thursday when I spoke to someone she said, “Oh Rachel!” Like she knew who I was and had been expecting me to call. At least they know I’m very interested.

In addition to interviews I am going to Gilbert’s work Christmas party this Friday and have find some shoes between now and then. Of course there are family Christmas events as well and the fact that I have yet to buy a single present. Not good. Last year I knew what I was getting everyone and had ordered everything by the beginning of December. Not so this year. But, I’m not stressing. I enjoy giving presents and I’d rather wait until I find the perfect thing.

I am getting ready to work on the great Thanksgiving update. Hopefully it will be up today or tomorrow.

Alright folks... I’m back and with a little encouragement from kpinyork and Ashley I am ready to blog again. In fact I think I am going to try to blog at least every other day this month. I really need to be working my creative writing muscles which have been very underused recently. There is much to talk about, including murder mysteries and teaching English as a second langauge. But first I think I should introduce you to my primary distraction of the past couple of months. He will henceforth be known as... Gilbert! (Yes, that is a not so veiled homage to Anne Shirley’s “Gilbert.”)

Gilbert and I met on eHarmony in the middle of September. We had our first lunch together on a Saturday in the middle of October and have been virtually inseparable since. I say virtually because he has a job and lives in Lexington. Considering those slight inconveniences we manage to see a lot of each other. He proved his bravery by joining us at the Family Thanksgiving Reunion this past week. I would like to say that I have been able to prove my own courage in some comparable manner but I can’t think of anything I have done that comes close to that level of dedication.

I have a feeling that Gilbert will be around as a character in this blog for a long time to come and I have to say that makes me very happy.

This time change has me all messed up.  I woke up at 7:15 and couldn't get back to sleep.  Of course some of that could have to do with fact that there are 29 calves being weened in the pond lot right now.  My window faces the pond and the calves keep up a fairly constant barrage of bawling.  This will be their second full day in there so hopefully things will improve.  

J and E came down for the weekend which was super!  We had a birthday supper for Grandmother on Saturday night and sat around for ages afterwards while telling stories.  E, Mogie, and I worked on a puzzle while watching The Princess Bride and The Emperor's New Groove, two of my all time favorite movies.  

I am busy with grad school stuff and the job hunt.  No really great job leads yet.