Day 16 of 365

Today is a more challenging day to be thankful. I am still sick and not getting any better. Maybe getting worse. And I am tired from coughing all night and listening to NGB cough for that hour he was in our bed before he went to the spare bed. Tired me = grumpy me. And grumpy does not equal thankful... But here goes. 

1. That NGB supports (although he doesn't agree with) my desire to have a synthetic diamond.  Another weird... I do not want a real diamond ring. It bothers me that the earth was plundered for a shiny stone to wear on my finger. And the risk of it being a blood diamond just doubles my ick factor. Do I still wear gold and other metals? Yes. For some reason that bothers me less than diamonds. I am weird. I know. 
2. That I get to be part of the journey of a new friend and coworker as she grows life inside her. She is pregnant! 
3. Soft kleenex on my achy nose
4. Winning the lotto. It was only $2 but I still won something.
5. Free muffins from someone else's meeting that fulfills my desire to stuff my face. Feed a cold AND a fever I say. 

Despite the fact I am not yet engaged I have started planning the wedding

I feel that I should talk about the USA. About the amazing change that is brewing down there. About the grace and intelligence and decency of the first couple. About the hope that is tangible in the USA right now, despite the economic crisis. About a campaign based on only that which is positive. But I would not do it the justice that more eloquent writers can. I just want to wish the USA nothing but the best as they move ahead. Up here, in the great white north, we feel the change and the hope too. 

And now, on to the part related to the title of this post... wedding planning!! No, I am not engaged. We don't have a day (or even, really, a year) but I must always have a project! Something to plan... be it house renos, a Christmas party, a wedding. I must have something to fill the spaces in my mind. Another weird. I almost always have multiple trains of thought going. There is what is in front of me, then there are the background tracks. My mind is an 8-track recorder! Track 4 right now is permanently on the wedding ideas. 

Venue

Church (the Anglican one)

Ideal dress (that I can't afford). Go to tea length, Roxanne style. With a birdcage veil. 

Invites (on the 100% recycled paper). Or these

Wheat grass and candles as the centrepieces. Candles everywhere! 

No attendants. No bouquets (another weird, I don't like cut flowers). No band or DJ (just an iPod in the background playing music). Ideally rockband and a few boardgames in a corner somewhere, a photobooth so people can take candid shots of themselves, something somewhere with a WoW theme (subtle, but present). 

Maybe on a Friday.

So, a completely NON-traditional affair. I wonder how much non-traditional will cost... 

To finish the day with one huge pet peeve. I use Google Chrome. I like it. I like the spell-check feature a lot. I type faster than I think. Or think faster than I type...? The latter, I hope *grin* But for some unknown reason blogger.com's post-typing big white box (the technical name, I am sure) will NOT be spell checked! Even though blogger is a google company. So I have to copy and paste it into word to find out the real way phlegm is spelled (I got it right. Woot!) . And when I don't, I have the nagging feeling I spelled inauguration wrong... Curse you google!

I outted myself. And random stuff.

I swore I wouldn't tell any of my "real life" friends the name of this blog. I'd tell them I HAD one, that I write in it, that it is helping me focus on the important things in life through GiST and just making sure I notice life so there is something to write. But I never thought I would say the NAME of my blog to someone. And I did. Last night. Over drinks with a dear friend. If you come here Janene... HAI!!!

Am I going to tell more people I know? Am I going to tell the NGB? See, the thing with him is he's the very OPPOSITE of an exhibitionist (aka me). He does not share his life, his ideas, his personal information with everyone and anyone. Hell, it took me and many friends about a year of nagging to get him on Facebook. And he still won't put a pic up. 

I HAVE A COMMENT! I squealed just a little, outloud, at work in pure joy. While I think I am sure I likely am just doing this for myself, to have a commentary on my life and remind me of the things I forget... to know someone SOMEWHERE read my words... wow! And, btw she will now be one of the blogs that I obsessively follow, because I am that kinda faithful to my first comment (luckily, she's a good writer too!). 

NGB mentioned we'd be getting married this year (or soon). So, being the obsessive planner I am I started thinking about what this wedding day will look like. Where it will be, who will come, what we'll do. I know I do NOT want a traditional wedding. No bridesmaids, no head table, no speeches, no first dance, no big white princess dress, no cut flowers. Another one of my weirds? I hate cut flowers. Like Christmas trees, all I see is something that once was living slowly dying... But what do I want? I want a party, I want people to mingle and talk and eat. I want colouring books and toys for the kids, I want rockband for the guys, I want board games and crib. I want a photo booth, so people can take candid shots of themselves. I want to walk around the people I love and celebrate over food and drink. I still want to do the chicken dance, but I don't want a formal first dance. I don't want a wedding, I want a party to celebrate the fact that I want to spend the rest of my life with my best friend. If anyone else out there reads this... what did you to for a wedding day celebration? 

New Years Eve!

Happy end of 2008/start of 2009! What exciting plans does everyone have for the night? 

Here is where I confess one of my weirds (my first weird!). I don't like New Years Eve. It's overblown, expensive and rarely fun. People have expectations for an amazing party night that is rarely met.  I like small house parties, but with the stupid (possibly drunken) drivers on the road I don't like driving around. So me and NGB will have my parents over for dinner. Which is a nice excuse to make the ribs I have been craving for a few days. After dinner a wee bit of Wii,  then we'll kick out the parents and have a quiet rest of the night at home. Snuggle, watch the apple fall, play WoW. I think our plans make me old and boring. Yet I am strangely comfortable with that. 

On a totally unrelated note, I found a lipstick I have fallen in deep, deep like with. Cover Girl Outlast lipstain (number 420). It looks like I am not wearing lipstick at all! That they are just naturally this gorgeous, just-passionately-kissed colour. Which is fabulous, since I am one of those lucky women whose natural lip colour is a fleshy and faintly blue colour... about 2 shades lighter than my skin. Hot, I know... My only complaint is that it doesn't stain as much as I thought it would and it does kind of come off, over time. But for perfectly "natural" lips, I'll happily reapply!