No, I Didn't Fall Off the Face of the Earth

I have just become consumed with school. Each weekend begins ambitiously, but then I end up spending more time with my friends and family that I originally anticipate. (That's more important anyway.) I'll recap weekends in a bit, but as of today, I have successfully completed three weeks of my Masters, and so far so good. :) Tomorrow morning I wake up around 5AM to catch a 7:05 flight out of Midway to Phoenix. From Phoenix I will take a shuttle to Sedona for another yoga retreat. I was actually feeling fairly confident about not going until Puran called me Tuesday night and told me that he found a pretty decently priced flight. I know I won't look back once I get there, but I have been so "go,go,go" lately. It would be nice to have a bit of a break weekend. 

So last time I wrote I had just returned from Iowa City. Two weekends again Lauren and I drove up to St. Paul, MN for Shawn & Bri's wedding, and this past weekend I went home for Brian & Jess's wedding. Lauren and I began the 6.5 hr drive to St Paul late morning on Friday the 8th and arrived just in time to check-in to our hotel and get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Lauren and I had not seen each other in awhile, so we had a lot to catch up during the beginning of the long drive. Until that weekend I had only heard about Shawn. I was so grateful to participate in their wedding weekend. I actually cried a lot more than I had anticipated. I cried when Brianna cried (as her Dad walked her down the aisle and then again as she recited her vows). I also got pretty sentimental at her reception. While I still consider Bri a good friend of mine, neither one of us can deny that we drifted apart in college. It'd be kind of hard not to since we lived in the same dorm, had the exact same schedule, studied WAY TOO MUCH together, but still... We used to talk about what our ideal weddings would be like, and now she is married. She and Shawn recited their vows in St. Paul's Cathedral- beautiful- and the reception that followed was well-planned and a lot of fun.

The good thing about not being one of the firsts to get married is I can come away from each wedding/reception having a better idea of what I want. On each of the tables at their reception they had pictures with trivia on the back, which I thought was a really cute idea. Plus, I just love pictures. There was also a short slideshow. Before the reception the DJ met with Shawn and Brianna individually and asked each of them to tell their side of their love story. Then, the DJ fused them together. (I think I may have cried during that too.) I'm not sure whose idea this was, but someone had thought to order pizza for a little bit of late night munching. While the distance took a lot out of me, I wouldn't have missed it for the world. (I'm still awaiting for Costa Rica details! :))

I got home this past Friday just in time for a filling- boo! Then, I spent a little time with my Grandparents before picking up some takeout with my parents and relaxing at home on Friday night. As I mentioned earlier, I brought my laptop home, planning to work on a paper, but I didn't open my computer once. My Mom and I had tentatively set a "study date" for Saturday but ended up grabbing a late lunch instead. (We both slept in, and I worked out too.) With both of our schedules, my Mom and I don't talk on the phone a lot, so there was plenty to talk about. We never have trouble with that.

Saturday night I busted out my new dress and HIGH heels. (I literally practiced walking in them.) During the wedding Jess's niece/ flower girl got mad at the ring bearer for walking too fast, hit him and then ran to the alter crying. Kids are so great! I still can't get over how quickly the reception flew by. When the DJ said, "45 minutes left," I couldn't believe it. I was pretty much on the dance floor (-heels) the entire time. Being at a reception with a lot of people you know really does make a difference. Mr. Allen gave a sweet speech. Homie is half Jewish, so I got to witness and participate in some of the Jewish wedding traditions. (I was really excited about this!!) 

Shoot... It's almost midnight. I want to get to bed!