A Wedding, A Baby and a Bonfire Part I

Where to even start?  I have been off on the East Coast for the past two weeks.  I returned on Monday evening with a slight cold and extreme exhaustion.  My travels were freaking awesome.  I don't know if I have the energy to write about it all today.  Let's get it started.
Day 1, fly out and sleep on the plane.

Aunt Nancy and Mamasita Sullivan

A White Dog

Rows of Trees Fallen Together

Day 2, land in Newark Airport, New Jersey.  My aunt Nancy picked me up from the airport at 11am Eastern Time and we started driving North where I would meet my mom.  The plan was for mi madre to take me the rest of the way after some lunch.  The drive up was good, Aunt Nancy was excited to hang out and we did some deep spiritual talking.  I was surprised how open minded she was.  It was a great start to the trip.  We met my Mom at some rest stop and Aunt Nancy pulled out the baked chicken, tomatoes, celery and baby carrots for lunch.  She had even looked up Paleo and did her best to make something I could eat.  So cute!  We had that and a banana cream pie to celebrate my mother's birthday that day.  A really mellow celebration.  We said farewell to Aunt Nancy and headed North again.  The drive with Mom was good, we listened to some Phantom of the Opera and talked all the way to the house.  We walked around our property and she showed me the damage from Hurricane Irene.  Lots of trees were down, in really creepy patterns all across the woods.

Your Roots are Showing!

Hurricane Irene did some crazy damage.  Even the Hammock tree went down.  Luckily nothing hit my parent's house.  That would have been awful.  On the positive side, Hurricane Irene gave us plenty of wood to build a new bonfire area, complete with bench seating.  We also had plenty of hot dog roasting sticks and logs to throw on the fire.

Day 3, I took a walk while Mom and Dad were at work.  I got up early to  tool around the neighborhood since I haven't been there in so long.  Last time I was in the area I had no time to myself, so I relished the alone time.  I walked to the field next to our property, then walked down Mrs Franks road to check out the area that I spent most of my time in the mornings waiting for the school bus.  It was great to be there.  I also had an AHA moment when I realized that the small stream that travels under Franks Road is the one that appears in my dreams sometimes.  Interesting.  I continued walking left on Phillips towards the Cow Lady.  I was a little worried that she might still have goats and that I would have to run to avoid their nasty bites.  (Not that I ever got bit, but they were gross and I'm sure they would tear out my flesh if they got their teeth on me.)  No goats or cows at the Cow Lady's place.  In fact, I think the Cow Lady is no longer at the Cow Lady's.  A moment later Anna and Alec arrived in Anna's car and I jumped in the back for a ride home.  There we packed, tried on dresses and waited for Dad to arrive.  When he did we stuffed the car and headed for Philly.  I texted my Mom to let her know our locale and mentally moved on to my next activity: Project Wedding.

Anna in the Window Sleeper at the Microtel

We got to our hotel, which sadly I have no pictures of.  It was a Microtel.  It had two huge beds and mirrors all over the place.  A bit creepy, but all we needed was a place to rest our domes after the drinking and dancing that was about to ensue.  So we checked in, put on our rehearsal dinner gear and headed off again, this time to Arin's neighbor's, the Foley's home. This is where the rehearsal dinner party was happening, apparently there was also some actual rehearsing happening at the venue.  Arin and Andrea came later.  I have to say that Arin's friends are pretty awesome.  She has built quite the family.  I'm glad that she has surrounded herself with a group of people that cares so much about her.  

We quit that party around 11pm and headed back to the Microtel for our beauty sleep.

Day 4, Wedding.  I'm gonna save this post for later, cause there's way too much to write at this present moment.  Maybe later tonight.  So far, 4 days in and sooo much fun was had!

I'm Leaving On a Jet Plane!

So kiss me and smile for me
Tell me that you'll wait for me
Hold me like you'll never let me go
Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh baby, I hate to go

Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane
Don't know when I'll be back again
Oh babe, I hate to go
- John Denver



So, I'm headed to the East Coast tonight! My plane leaves at 7:25 my time and arrives at 10am your time. I'm going to do my best to sleep on the plane so I'm not exhausted when I get there. I've got lots of plans and I'm going to do my best not to get sick, lose my voice, get really bad headaches or cramps. I'm not sure how my hair is going to deal with the cold, dry weather, but it should be interesting to say the least. I'm excited for pedicures, dresses, makeup and dancing. I've been listening to my Miss Saigon CD to prepare for the trip. It's being imported to my Ipod as we speak. I think I've got everything packed that I need, and still am only taking a carry-on bag. Pretty awesome. I'm a simple person. Plus if I really need to I'll buy a pair of jeans or something. We all know you can wear jeans every day for 2 weeks, no problem.

In the meantime I'm doing my best not to gain 20 pounds. The bread from that damn store smells soooo good. I hate delicious bread bakers. They make me fat. Damn their soft, yeasty dough and their blueberry and white chocolate chip pieces. And damn them for baking it just the way I like it, just slightly under cooked at the corners, so you get that little bite of chewy goodness at the end. Le sigh. Life is so hard. Honestly, I'm most worried about my stomach on the plane. My body is not used to this level of white flour and my stomach has been, well, ah hem. Not good. Need to find a snack that I can bring with me and try to avoid being triple bloated when I board.

Love all you East Coasters, hopefully I'll get a chance to see you in a few days!!