What I've Learned... Today

Normally I try not to post "Oh, life is pretty good and I'm busy" style blogs, but some days are just "everyday," and I'm coming to really appreciate that. I haven't allowed myself to count (again, for the fourth time), but I'm pretty sure I'm 2/3 done with my half of the wedding invitations and I actually have Mom's fully-finished half in the back of my car right now (along with a set of lefty golf clubs and the biography of Erskine Caldwell--it's arguable which of those is getting more use these days).

Addressing the invitations has been good and fun and, because I'm almost done, I decided I'd share some thoughts about what I'd do if I had to write them over again:

1) Marry someone who didn't live in North Carolina. When addressing envelopes, you write out the full name of the state. No abbreviations allowed. Next go round, I would pick a husband that lived in Ohio.

2) Invite country friends rather than urban. The no abbreviation rule strikes again! I'm becoming very fond of renters that dwell in "units" or "studios" rather than "apartments." Believe you me, after a certain number of letters, every letter counts.

3) I think it's a little crazy what people charge for some things. Like a Barbie Cake, when purchased from Publix, is $60. When made at home, it costs roughly $12. However, factor in time and suddenly that $60 looks like a steal. So while I wouldn't want to pay for someone to address invitations, you'd be darn sure I'd charge if asked to do them for someone else. And charge extra for guests in double-word states and those living in apartments.

4) Cooking and invitations don't mix. Because I'm taking it slow, the invitations have taken up semi-permanent residence on my dining table. I go back and forth between being thankful that I have the space to spread them out and worried that they're going to ship smelling like a mix between bacon, sauteed onions, and homemade chocolate chip cookies. Maybe I'll skip the cooking for a few days and stick to baking.

5) My irrational fears aren't limited to forgetting to set my alarm clock and people living behind the shower curtain. Oh no, I have a fear that I'm going to leave the calligraphy pen uncapped and return to find that the sheet the invitations are living on top of completely soaked with jet-black ink, which is slowly bleeding its way up (yes, up) my stacks of invitations turning them into some sort of mod, ink-blot test that would prompt our guests to turn it sideways and over, asking "What do you think this is suppose to mean?"

By now you know that by "lessons," I mostly meant neuroses. Ah but yes, it's simply an everyday Thursday on which I'm thankful for the coming weekend when I can go spend a few days in Atlanta with B's family taking care of some out-of-town wedding fun... and maybe a little shopping on the side.