Of Weddings and Cars and ERs

Apparently I was too busy in September to post anything. I can't imagine why that would be.

So, Meagan and Zac got married on Wednesday. It would have been alot less stressful if Meagan and I hadn't had to do the flowers on top of everything else. But we did them. I thought they turned out quite well thanks to the tutorials by the man in the orange shirt on youtube.

We did have a back up plan if Meagan's bouquet had turned out horribly ugly. There was an already made bridal bouquet with white roses and ivy at Michael's for $50 we would have bought. It's hard to believe that only a week ago Meagan, Zac and I were out shopping for silk flowers and trying to decide what on earth to get. We ended up buying most of the flowers at JoAnn's. I liked their flower selection better and most of their silk flowers were on sale.

We'd thought of having Michael's do the flowers, but what we wanted would have cost about $300. I called a few florists, too. The Flower Patch wanted $460. Can you believe that? Hyland Floral would have been about $210, which wasn't bad, but they needed 2 weeks advance notice to get all the flowers ordered in. Yeah, we didn't have 2 weeks. After having made 6 corsages, 10 boutonnieres (or was it 11?), 4 small bouquets and 1 large bouquet that I understand why they charge so much for flowers. It's alot of work!

The thing that made it all worth it was that the bridesmaids absolutely adored their bouquets. And the girl who dived for the toss bouquet and was excited when Meagan told her she got to keep it. I love gratitude. I can understand the scriptures where God says He loves a grateful person.

I spent most of the night before the wedding finishing flowers and making chicken salad. The chicken salad turned out pretty well, but if I had it to do again, I'd have someone else make it! And I wouldn't have bought nearly as much food. Jo told me about how much I'd need and I didn't believe her! Zac was excited that they got to take some of the extra rootbeer and ice cream home, though. At least we didn't spend a whole lot on the food. :)

Wednesday I spent almost all day running around: dropping Jarom off at school at 6:00 am, decorating, finishing the chicken salad, dragging Amber to Walmart to buy underclothing, wondering when Meagan would show up to the church so I could strap her into her corset and wedding dress, running back to the house for Meagan's bridal bouquet, greeting guests, making sure people got served food, cleaning up...

Thank goodness so many people helped or it never would have happened! I thought it turned out quite well. Quite a few people showed up, considering it was a school night and our ward had 3 other activities/meetings going on that night.

I thought I would have slept pretty well Wednesday night, but I tossed and turned most of the night. Wednesday morning I dragged myself out of bed and returned Meagan's wedding gown to the rental shop. The alterations lady was relieved to hear that Meagan hadn't thrown up in the dress. (She almost did at her alterations fitting!) I had to return the dress between 8:00 am and noon the day after the wedding. I thought I'd be there by 9:00. Try 11:30. I'm glad I had the extra time and I didn't have to be to work until 1:00 pm.

After that, I went to a Chevron and washed "Father of the Bride" off the back window of the Crown. When I was almost done, a teenage girl pulled up behind me to get gas. She climbed out of her jeep and realized she hadn't pulled far enough foward, so she got back in proceeded to ram into the back of the Crown. I was a little surprised. I've never had that happen before. She got out of her Jeep and apologized profusely. I examined the back of the Crown and couldn't find any damage. (It's a tough car!) As I pulled away, I realized that if she'd hit the car just a minute earlier, I could have been between the two cars when they collided. I thanked God profusely for my good fortune. Thank you, God - I still have both my legs!

I just happened to be at the Chevron right by Becky's, so I went over and talked to her for about an hour. Byron jumped on me periodically and jabbered about dolphins and letter crackers. He's so funny. He reminds me of Cameron of many years ago.

Thursday night I slept the best I had in a couple of months. What a relief! I think it's because the wedding was over and I'd returned the dress and it was all over and done with.

Yesterday was my long day at work. Meagan called me about 6:00-ish, stressed because David couldn't stand up or talk and could barely breathe. He was helping her and Zac move and someone was smoking a cigarette. I told her to call 9-1-1 if he couldn't talk. So she did. I finished making my last few phone calls then I headed to the ER.

As I was driving, I thought to myself, "Great, maybe I'll become a mother-in-law and a widow in the same week." Fortunately, I was wrong about the last part. By the time I got the the ER, David could talk again. Apparently someone in the library parking lot was smoking marajuana, then David went to the apartments and someone was smoking cigarettes and he couldn't handle all that smoke. Now he's wondering if it's safe for him to go to public places. He thinks a gas mask might work, but Jarom thinks he might be mistaken for a terrorist. Maybe a surgical mask? Then he could look like Michael Jackson - well, how MJ used to look.

This morning David, Cameron and I went to the 5th Annual Eagle Scout Breakfast. It was nice, but the only things I could eat were scrambled eggs and OJ. That's better than nothing, right? The servers looked at me a little weird when I asked for more eggs and told them that's all I was eating.

This afternoon, I got to see Meagie and Zac's apartment. It's not bad. They're in a one bedroom basement apartment with a small patio with a storage shed. They have washer and dryer hookups even if they don't have a washer and dryer yet. Meagan moved out the last of her stuff about 15 minutes ago and even vacuumed her old bedroom. She's been in that bedroom since she was 6! That's 14 years now. Wow. It'll be weird without her here.

Well, that's my excitement for the last week. I'm ready to go back to bed!

Cameron and Door-to-Door Salesmen

About a month ago I posted a sign on the inside of the front door directing everyone to tell door-to-door salesmen, "I'm sorry but we don't buy anything sold door-to-door," then shut the door. We already have a "No Solicitors" sign on the front door, but the salesmen don't read it, don't know what a solicitor is or just plain ignore it.

The day after I put up the notice, David knocked on the front door because he wanted to show us something in the front yard. The door was locked, like it usually is. Cameron answered the door and told his Dad, "I'm sorry but we don't buy anything sold door-to-door," then he shut the door. It was hilarious.

Last night just as David and I got home from delivering the last of Meagan and Zac's wedding invitations, we noticed Cameron was at the front door with a door-to-door salesman. David and I came in through the back door as Cameron was telling the salesman goodbye. I asked Cameron if he told the salesman we don't buy anything sold door-to-door. He told me, "Yes, I told him that, but I also asked him if he wanted a drink of water. He did, so I got him one." Cameron was still holding the cup he'd taken to the salesman.

Cameron is so thoughtful and sweet, how proud I am of him!