What's next has been done.

With some extremely persuasive prodding from my dad, I've packed up the majority of my things and am shipping approximately 12 boxes out to Colorado tomorrow. Poor M. I've warned him that they are coming, but I think the sheer volume of boxes will certainly overwhelm him. Granted, four or five of the boxes are simply books, something he and I both tend to hang on to (and with him being a book collector, well, you can only imagine). The other things are just... things! I'm sure he will convince me to throw some of it away once we go through them together, but I just can't comprehend the amount of STUFF that I have. My step-brother, T., told me he moved from SF to FL in his station wagon. To have that kind of mobility... M and I are working toward that, but I simply don't believe it's possible to be both a minimalist (in the sense of tangible objects) and an academic.

I graduated two years ago and kept every single textbook and notebook "just in case." The notebooks got thrown out, but the textbooks will probably stay on my bookshelf for many more years. Same with my graduate textbooks that I used for what, 3 months? While I suppose my heart does lie in the science of minds and emotions, I highly doubt I will return to graduate school for psychology (...but who knows, I know well enough now not to rule anything out!)

Also, we've made definite plans for my trip to Colorado. M. is flying back to CO on the Monday after our wedding, then back to AL on the evening of the 20th to drive back with me the next day to CO. The original plan was for my dad to drive out with me and fly back, but now he believes this will be a great newlywed exercise! I, for one, am excited. M and I have a pretty good time on road trips, as long as I'm not asleep!

So. 15 days to go.... I'm starting on a project, hopefully tomorrow night - it looks like this now:



but it should look a lot better in a few days. And by the way - if you are DIYing any paper products, get a paper cutter - don't try to use a ruler and an exacto knife because you will be disappointed in your work.

That's all I got.

Oh my goodness, that is NOT all that I got! I totally forgot to mention that my BEST friend and maid of honor got engaged yesterday!!! S and I have truly gone through so much together in the short time we've known each other, and I am so incredibly happy that she now gets to experience this journey of marriage preparation - aka wedding planning. She's been with me through every step of my planning process as I met her only a few weeks after M and I got engaged. I can't wait to start planning hers - we can stop dreaming and start doing! I've known since February that her boyfriend (now fiance) was going to propose and it has been a tough fight to keep it from her (and all our friends!) all these months. She and J are two of the most wonderful people I know and I am so happy that they've officially made the commitment to spend the rest of their lives together!