weddings.food.friends.

I wrote this 9 days ago: The month of May was lovely.  I'm in the US now, but I'm spending the day on the couch to try to recover from a little chest cold.  My head feels like someone slugged it with a bat and I sound like a smoker.  Not the greatest thing before I'm supposed to drive 9 hours to be in a wedding.  Pray for fast recovery!  It's a good thing to be at Grandma Norma's when feeling like this.

The following day I drove to Indiana and listened to the audiobook of Blink.   I wish I could say that I read minds now, but all I really learned is that I'm very selfish and don't focus on other people enough.  It wasn't a bad drive and I ended up meeting the wedding party in Indianapolis for Mongolian bbq.  We went back up to Taylor that night and worked on wedding stuffs the next few days.

 

The wedding essentials: manicure, pedicure, hair trim, flower arrangements for the church, bachelorette party, lingerie.
Even funner: thunderstorm warnings, 8 girls living in an near empty apartment, an extra-large wedding party, firemen groomsmen, candy table, The Marriage of Jon and Alana!

Saturday night took me to the Harrisons of Indianapolis, a dear family who took me in last spring while I was student-teaching.  They make the best food.  And tea.  And conversation. Several firsts: playing Settlers of Catan, watching Doctor Who, mud tea.  They were also very patient with me as I went through second week culture shock ("The roads are so big here!  Where are all the trees?  In Moscow we have prettier buildings.  In Moscow it's harder to get around.  In Moscow everyone speaks Russian." and other nonsense).  I always leave a little of my heart there and hope to return soon.

The next stop was Chicago to the lovely, talented RB living in a house full of girls.  These three days I've been living in the "hostage room" in the basement behind the washing machine.  It has been so nice to finally get to sleep in and spend a day catching up on all the internet-ish things I've been avoiding for the last week.  Tuesday, I spent the day with Babson while RB was at work.  We breakfasted at an amazing little cafe, saw her apartment, went to the mall and bought shoes and underwear, and drove around, reminiscing and speculating about the future.  Too many tasty conversation bits to go into detail.

It's impossible to remember everything we say, but maybe God made us forgetful so we could savor discoveries over and over again.

RB and I have enjoyed many delicious moments on this visit: frozen yogurt, chili and cornbread with a house full of people, mimosas on the back swing.  (I love food.)  We watched Amanda Seyfried's gorgeous hair in two movies; the former was a laughable and ridiculous dvd, the latter was pure girl entertainment in a cinema. 

Unfortunately through it all, I've been in poor health (voiceless, coughing, allergic to Indiana).  I'd like to say I'm on the mend, but I really have no basis for that judgment. I cough through the night, so I apologize for any germs I may be trailing behind. 

I'm heading Out West again today into the big unknown.  I am so blessed.