Lousy Timing Award...

First off: HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my friend Mik--have a wonderful day!!!!

Well, I survived my sister's wedding. Don't get me wrong, the wedding was perfect--it came together and everything turned out beautifully...

...except I was suffering from the most heinous head/chest cold I've probably had in YEARS. Hacking cough, head full of cement, fever, aches...you name it.

Nice timing, huh?

I owe my survival to liberal amounts of cold medicine and Advil--I don't think I would have made it otherwise. But it was also so nice to reconnect with family members I haven't seen in ages--it's been far too long.

My sister was the beautiful bride, her husband-to-be was adorably nervous (he forgot his written-down vows in the van) and the outdoor wedding, which took place in a copse of trees, was the perfect setting: peaceful and tranquil. The mosquitos even seemed to stay away, which sort of miffed me, since I rubbed practically all the female members of the wedding party (including myself) down with copious amounts of stinky bug repellent wipes. (Or maybe that's WHY they stayed away? We'll never know.)

I only had a few mishaps--I wore fabulous cobalt shoes with spiky heels--that absolutely KILLED my feet after 15 minutes and the heels kept getting stuck between the boards of the lodge. (Each time I stopped walking and cursed out loud my brother knew to gallantly lean down and rescue my heel out of the board cracks.)
Oh, and I got to re-pierce the Maid of Honor's ears, which wasn't a fun experience for both of us, for sure. (Apparently she hadn't worn earings in forever and her holes had closed up. OUCH.)

Then there was the little matter of me forgetting to wear a slip, (and I was wearing a white sundress with a blue spray of flowers on it) but I'll just chalk that down to being absentminded ol' me. I tried to stay out of the sunlight and walked with my knees locked together. It was all good.

But the piece de resistance-- we made the unfortunate choice of picking a MEXICAN restaurant for dinner the night before. I'll let you make you own deductions as to why. (Need a hint? Picture me, speeding to Walmart at 7am the morning of the wedding with scary hair and one eye open to buy GAS-X for everyone.) Yep. Fun fun fun. :-)

Thing One was the adorable bridesmaid, and she had a lot of fun. It was her first wedding! But that night she got my cold--and so she's miserable too.

The flights home were, in a word, excruciating, because both Thing One's and my sinuses were killing us.
Today we're still sick, but taking it easy. It's nice to be home again, but it was even nicer to be with my family for the brief few days we had.

Congratulations, sister of mine! You're a Mrs. now!!!

Oh, and Mr. Woolley, I'm glad you survived--I will be sending you an email shortly!