I am catching up on my magazines and saw this ad. I certainly hope the Ashton-Drake Galleries produce a limited edition doll of me when the time comes.

We set the date.  I guess I’m getting married!

Don’t think this necessarily means you’re invited 😉 It’s not like these events come cheap!

Here’s where we’ve chosen to have it.  We’ll be having our ceremony in the Chouteau Room and the dinner/reception in the Centennial Ballroom. 

There’s a lot more planning to do, but I’m glad we’ve decided on the biggest part.  (Well, second biggest really…the biggest part was deciding who to marry!)

Here are some pictures from their facebook page:

Those are all the Chouteau Room

These are all the Centennial Room (up a floor).

Obviously my decorations will be a little different, but you can see the exposed brick and the wood floors.  I think it’s awesome!  The woman in charge, Ann, reminded me of my friend Melissa.  She had a great sense of humor as well.  I am psyched. 

I realized that the main reason I couldn’t deal with this all a few weeks ago is I just had too much other crap going on.  Now that I am almost done with school, I am ready to brainstorm centerpiece arrangements and discuss bridal party teeth whitening strategies to my heart’s desire.

Does anyone else hate the phrase "Hump day" for Wednesday?  I know I do.  Then again, maybe that’s the point?

So far this week is going pretty well.  The sun is shining, how can I be upset?  I have realized that my mood seems to be strongly correlated to the weather.  Or the ability to run outside.  The two are strongly connected.  Yesterday I had a workout with Mike and then ran around Tower Grove Park.  It was great!  Then I went to teach for four or so hours, including getting to work on the Bach Double with one student, and then met my friend Laura for a drink.  We ended up at Frazer’s. 

Today I have classes in the morning and teaching in the late afternoon and evening.  In between Chris and I are going to visit a wedding venue.  Things are really coming together, and it’s possible by the end of today we will have something booked. 

Another ridiculous picture of my cat.

Random thoughts:

A few weeks ago I took two days off from working out because my legs had been sore for quite some time.  This really helped!  Since then I’ve been running better and walking normally.  Though I was going crazy during those two days, it was truly a wise decision.  Don’t let your exercise addiction keep you from taking rest days. 

Real friends are people who you can do or say embarrassing things in front of and they still want to be your friend.  Throughout my life there are many instances of me saying or doing truly embarrassing stuff.  I have only a few friends in my life who don’t hold that against me.  I suppose it’s because they like me well enough already.  You worry that the next time you see them they will act awkward or different (because this has also happened countless times) but instead they make fun of you (or not even!) and then continue on as if nothing humiliating was said or done.  Many years ago I was just becoming friends with my friend Sarah and this was an ability of hers that I truly appreciated and needed at the time.  I have a couple of newer friends in my life now with this same quality, and I truly appreciate them.

I woke up before my alarm again this morning.  It’s so bright now, starting around 6 am, that sleeping until 7:30 am sometimes feels long.  It’s a bit crazy…

Well, I’d better finish getting ready for my day.  I’m sitting here with a towel wrapped around my head, drinking coffee.  There is something to be sad for getting up earlier—makes for a very relaxing morning.

Who isn’t a bit envious of this ridiculous creature? Of course I love my Tuesday students….but still.

I have a love hate relationship with my readers.  I want you to read my blog.  I tweet about my blog, I post it on facebook.  I use it in my email signature.  I love you all!

But I get embarrassed when you want to talk to me in real life about it.  Weird, huh?  Of course I thrive on embarrassment in my life, but that’s another story… but seriously, my blog is on the INTERNET.  What happens on the internet stays on the internet, right?

(and remember, friends, the internet is NOT a big truck, it’s a series of tubes.)

I know many of my friends read this.  Thanks guys!  In fact, sometimes I just assume my friends HAVE read and reference it as if they have not only read but memorized my words.  So I am a very hypocritical attention seeker.  There, I said it.  If any of my readers have a blog, you probably know exactly what I mean.  You want traffic, you want attention…but not too much.

Today was one of those times where I got exactly what I deserved.

Do you remember the “poop” picture and story about the woman who, well, lost control of her bowels while running the Boston Marathon?  Of course you do, even though you’d probably prefer not to.  In any case, earlier this week the photographer emailed me and asked me to please take the picture down.  He said that he had thought it was a funny story but it ended up being a huge hassle for Caroline White.  (Evidently he is new to the internetz).  He also corrected me and said she was trying for a PR, and had already qualified for the Olympic trials the year before.  In any case, I felt really bad and of course took the picture down.

I was in the middle of my workout with Mike (you know, Mike, my personal trainer) this morning and I brought this up.  I had mentioned my blog in the past, and I told him the story of the guy asking me to take down the picture.  He said, “oh, yeah, I read that on your blog”.  Then he said, “next week I’ll teach you how to run airborne.”

It took me a few seconds, but then I realized that he had read this post.  I think I turned beet red.

Mike went on to tell me how he was looking for the Ocarina concert and couldn’t get it to load, but instead was poking around my blog and just happened to notice a picture of himself.

I think that time stopped due to my extreme embarrassment (Chris is also embarrassed FOR me and I think for himself as well to be engaged to someone like me).  I was trying to play it all cool, but I’m pretty sure that I was bright red and perhaps sweating profusely.

I asked if he minded, and he said no, it was fine.  I hope he wasn’t just saying that.  Maybe I’ll never see Mike again, or he is going to file a restraining order against me…I DID tell him about my blog, and I DID somewhat encourage him to read it.  So it is entirely my fault (see previous comment re: being a hypocritical attention seeker.)

But I’m not a stalker.  Just a blogger who likes to borrow other people’s photos on the internet.  And sometimes I have a lot of free time.

Here’s a picture of my own cat, judging me:

So…hi Mike, welcome to my blog!  I promise I’m not a crazy stalker, I’m just crazy 🙂  And seriously people, he’s a great trainer, you should sign on with him.  I plan to continue until at least my wedding, if it’s possible.

Does anybody else want a shout out?