Brrr! It got cold here.

I sent my engagement ring off today to get fixed. I was surprised at how sad I was to see it go. I won't be able to get it back for (possibly) 12 days, so maybe it'll be done when I get back from my West Coast jaunt.

Today is also my birthday. It hasn't been the greatest day so far, but I'm sure it'll get better. I hope so, anyway! I get presents tonight from Trip!

I saw some super cute shoes at Target like this but in brown. I could probably use a cute pair of brown shoes to wear with skirts or pants, but I just wasn't sure if I should buy them. Maybe after I come back.

Trip took me out to dinner last night to Vin, this fancy restaraunt not too far away. We had fried oysters as an appetizer and then I had a delicious steak with asparagus and cheesy mashed potatoes. Trip got a boullabaise that included crayfish, fish, enormous scallops, and shrimp in a lobster bisque. Yum! We both had enough left over for dinner tonight! Plus they do a tiny dessert menu, so we got a really rich chocolate ganache cake and a tempura-fried banana split with triple chocolate ice cream. The banana split was a little disappointing -- the ice cream had a weird aftertaste, but the cake was SOOOO delicious. An excellent birthday dinner! And I get to have some more steak tonight! Yum!

Since I am leaving tomorrow for the West Coast, updates may be sporadic. I am hoping to have some Internet access while I'm gone, but otherwise, I'll send along some updates when I get back. I need to get packing now!

What a weekend!

I was helping chaperone a church retreat with the Confirmation students. There were supposed to be two girls going along, but one dropped out earlier (didn't realize she had signed up and had something else going on) and the other decided not to come on Friday at 3:30 pm. We left for the hotel at 6:30.

So I went anyway and helped out with the eight boys that we were chaperoning. They were surprisingly well-behaved and fun to spend time with.

However, I ended up getting sick on Saturday afternoon with achiness and the chills. My teeth were literally chattering! So I had to skip out on some of the activities to try to sleep upstairs in the hotel room. Not the most fun I've ever had, but at least now I am feeling 90% better. I'm not quite 100%, but I'm getting closer. With the trip coming up to Seattle, I want to be healthy for flying!

The wedding planning is also coming along. We've got a rough idea of a budget and are working on finding options within the price range. I was super stressed out about it earlier this week, but right now I am at peace and confident that whatever we end up doing, it'll be awesome. I can't imagine that I will really be worried about it when the day comes along -- the best thing will be that I'll be married and starting a life together with Trip!

With all the wedding stuff happening, I've forgotten about the fact that my birthday is coming up. It's on Wednesday! Sadly this year, because I had the retreat and the trip to Seattle, I won't be able to have a birthday party. And we have a Young Adult study that Trip is leading on Wednesday nights, so he can't even take me out for my birthday on my birthday! But we're going out for dinner tomorrow. It should be nice, and I imagine I'll get some presents. Yay, presents!

I'm also having lots of fun looking for wedding books at the library. Because our library is so old, we've got some really awesome photography books of weddings that range from the 1940s up to the mid-70s. They are a sight to see!