Well, my weekly goal has not been successful - everything is just so crazy and busy. I'm really looking forward to things slowing down a bit, and be able to get to the point where we can take a weekend and not go somewhere or have a commitment. Unfortunately I don't see that happening in the near future.
School is already a 1/4 of the way through, and I almost can't believe it! My classes are great so far, and we're making some really nice progress. We had our fall concert last week and it went really well! Its really cool to see how they react in that "formal" concert setting as performers, and I love recognizing how far they've come since we first started the music. I'm particularly proud of my audition choir, the AMS Star Singers. Not only have they improved a lot since the beginning of the year, but they are really starting to mature as choir members. For example: The day after the concert we watched the video recording, and after they had heard and seen themselves perform, they were so full of constructive critiques! They talked about blend and dynamics and musically expressive ideas - what went well and what we still needed to work on. I was so impressed to hear them talk like that, and be so musically mature in their observations! We definitely have our work cut out for us, but we'll have such fun working on it together!
Many of the area schools weren't in session today for "Fall Break," and the day off has been nice. Tonight Eric is in Wichita, visiting some friends and doing some music shopping, while I spent my time this afternoon in Manhattan, attending an appointment and visiting my niece at KSU.
I last wrote about Eric and I being deep in the wedding planning process, but since school and all the events that come with it have really picked up, we haven't talked much about it lately. We have most of the big things down: the church and venue booked, our DJ booked (thanks to my brother Jeff's suggestion and connection), and our wedding party selected, although we haven't asked all of them yet, so I feel pretty good about where we are planning-wise. I have been a little stressed about choosing a photographer. Its such a big part of the wedding, and its also very expensive! And of course, me being the "frugal" spender that I am, I have been trying to find the best deal. Unfortunately what I've found so far is photographers that are either affordable but not very good quality, OR really good quality, but really pricey. Many of the expensive prices I've found wouldn't be that bad if they included at least some prints in the package. But most do not. I think what Eric and I have concluded is that we'll just have to find the photographer that we like the best and then just bite the bullet. Its such a two-sided coin too, the photography issue. Many people that said that they took the cheaper route on their wedding photos have also said that they wished they would've went ahead and spent the money, cutting back somewhere else on their wedding - and then many people also say that they hardly look at their wedding album (so is it really worth all that money?). And I'm sure we won't look at it everyday, or even a lot, but if we do spend the money, at least we'll enjoy looking at our wedding photos when we do, instead of wishing we had spent the money for them, right? Still, a decision has yet to be made, and I would really like to get that decided and booked as soon as we can.
As you can most likely tell from the pictures I've uploaded so far, we did choose someone to do our engagement pictures - and we really like them! Its a local guy who does really nice work. It was a fun afternoon and we got a lot of nice pics.
A big detail to planning the wedding is, of course, the attire; specifically the bridesmaid dresses and my wedding dress. I've been shopping for dresses twice, both times w/ 2 of my sisters and my mother. The first time was fun, but towards the end I got really overwhelmed and had a little breakdown - and no dress to show for the day. The second time was yesterday, and it went much better! And I had more success in the process! Although I didn't come away with a dress, I have a MUCH better idea of what I want, and I'm stronger in my opinion of what I would like to see myself in on our special day. The first store we went to I found a dress that I really responded to, and I really liked it a lot. I even welled up a little when I saw myself in the mirror.
So far when I've tried on dresses, I've liked certain things about a dress, "I like this bodice, but not the way this skirt lays," or, "I like the pickups on this dress' skirt, but I don't like the way the bodice is designed," etc. This was the first dress that I have tried on that I liked everything about it, but I still wasn't convinced that this was my dress. So on we went to the next store, where I tried on a really beautiful dress! It was very simple, but I liked that about it - it was simple but elegant! I really loved that one a lot, and I was more convinced that that dress was closer to my dress. It was a little more expensive and it was a size too small, but those things could be worked out a bit. So for now, we'll see what happens.
I'm pretty sure that my indecisiveness is getting frustrated for some, but for once I feel like I can take my time and really make up my mind about what I want. I'm going to wait for the right dress and I know that I will decide upon my dress and the bridesmaid dresses with plenty of time before the wedding.
Aside from school, Eric and the wedding planning, tomorrow I'm journeying out west to attend the bridal shower and bachelorette party of my very good friend, Abigail, and I'm so so excited about seeing her and spending time w/ her and everyone I miss! It'll be such a nice time, and I can't wait to see the beautiful bride! Here's praying for a swift and safe trip!
