Wednesday Wedding Weecap Weedux

(Warning: there are approximately 11 hundred million large pictures in this post.)

Dear Internets,

Thing 1.
I'm thinking of giving my blog the month of April off from the "Dear Internets" format. Thoughts?

Thing 2.
Here's semi-proof that I actually performed stand up on Monday:



Thing 3. Here are some of the early pictures from the wedding, with commentary. (All photos are by the fantastic, wonderful, adored-by-Achilles-me-and-our-families Melanie Dodds, unless noted.)

I got ready at my parents' house. I think I was the least nervous person there. I just felt very Zen. And silly.

(photo by my sister)

I didn't want to hide from Achilles (or anyone else) before the ceremony, which turned out to be awesome. We had a chance to get a lot of photos done, and spend time with family and friends during cocktail hour. (It also meant I spotted the rabid bat* and had a chance to have it removed before the under-5 crowd arrived. Win!)

(photo by my friend Loly)

I didn't have bridesmaids, but two of my best friends decided to wear purple shoes to support me. (My sister and I also changed into matching sparkly flip-flops at the reception.)


Originally, I didn't want to walk down an aisle at all. The day before the wedding, I changed my mind ("Forget forgetting tradition!") and decided I wanted both my dad and my nephew to walk me down the aisle 9,000 concrete steps to the gazebo to meet Achilles and the judge.


We had to pick the music at the last minute. We walked down the aisle to a ukulele instrumental version of "All You Need is Love." (My dad is a huge early-Beatles fan, and I'm obviously a ukulele fan.) My nephew was distracted by a fountain at the top of the stairs, but at the last minute, ran down and grabbed my hand.

(photo by my sister)

Our ceremony was short, but really nice. Achilles has known the judge that married us since he was in elementary school (Achilles, not the judge).


Music for the "recessional": "You Are the Best Thing" by Ray LaMontagne

We took a few minutes after the ceremony to take pictures and spend some time together. This was also great, as we spent most of the rest of the evening talking to people. These are a couple of my favorites:


Dinner was amazing. Despite the expression on my face in this picture (I think I was chewing), the food was fantastic. We served raspberry mojitos (an ode to our trip to Puerto Rico and the color pink).

photo by my parents' next-door neighbor

Flower baby (niece) and matron of honor (sister):

photo by my parents' next-door neighbor

I know dancing is one of those things a lot of people leave out of weddings, but I *love* dancing (despite having no rhythm). I even added a song request feature to our online RSVP**. Achilles and I danced our first dance to "Question" by the Old 97's. We did a sort of modified foxtrot, and didn't miss any steps (which, for two people with no rhythm, is kind of a big deal).

photo by my sister

After our first dance, we invited all our friends out to dance to a "special" song. We played the opening measures to "Don't Stop Believing." Then we Rickrolled everyone. (Sing it with me... "Never gonna give you up, never gonna let you down..." Perfect wedding song, really.)

photo by my friend Loly

After that, we played my nephew's request ("I Gotta Feeling" - The Black Eyed Peas)...

photo by my sister

...and some other songs... (There's a video of my dad and my nephew dancing to "SexyBack" that I'd love to post... if I could only figure out how...) My cousin (who's about 5) had some insane dance moves, including one that culminated in him sliding across the floor on his knees.

We had an impromptu cupcake-cutting...

photo by Loly

...and impromptu toasts (the best kind)

photo by Loly

Melanie brought out the mustaches (BEST. PHOTOGRAPHER. EVER!)


Then we left by pedicab and headed to the Driskill.



photo by Loly

A wonderful day and night - I wouldn't have changed a thing.

If you are still reading, it is possible that you actually want to see more pictures. Here are some detail shots.

We had a tree/birds/pink theme. Instead of a guest book, my friend Lyndee made us a swirly fingerprint tree (from an old doodle I'd made on a notebook). I don't have a photo of it right now, but I'll upload one ASAP.

Of course, we had the little birds. (I ended up making the veil for the girl bird out of leftover tulle from my mom and sister's weddings.)


The little birds sat atop the cupcake stand (the venue put this together - not what I'd pictured originally, but it turned out lovely)

photo by my sister

My mom, dad, sister, Achilles' mom and godmother, and I all made cookies as wedding favors. Guests took them home in little Chinese takeout boxes (my friend Lyndee made the labels for the boxes).


Lyndee also moved heaven and earth to get me peonies (my favorite flower). Apparently, a late freeze killed most of the peony crop, so I didn't think I'd be able to have them. I burst into tears when she gave them to me. My shoes were from Nordstrom. Dress, shoes, hair, makeup and jewelry came out to less than $300 total. Win!


More pictures from my family and friends are (slowly) being uploaded to Flickr, if you're interested in checking those out.

Lessons learned:

• Overall, we spent less than a third of what the average Austin couple spends on a wedding, and less than one fifth of the national average. Nice weddings don't have to be expensive.
• We have the nicest friends and family in the world.
• If you hire a photographer, find one like Melanie.
• Always check for rabid bats.
  
• It's OK to be firm about the things that are important to you.
• Above all else, relax. You'll enjoy everything a lot more, even if it's not exactly what you originally envisioned.

Onward!

Love,
Jane

*Yep. Rabid bat. Perfect for a native Austinite wedding.
**A great way to ensure that your guests compliment your taste in music.

...and I did it!

Holy smoke-a-doodles, Internets!

I did stand up! And it wasn't awful! My friends' videos/pictures didn't come out, but we should get the official* video in a week or two.

(*It's "official" because we had to pay for a copy.)

Both the wedding and the stand up went better than I ever could have imagined. I must have done something to get really good karma in a past life.

I don't know what I'm going to do with myself now. (I'm open to suggestions.)

Love always,
Jane

We did it!

More pictures to come soon. Thank you again to all our wonderful friends and family, the amazing staff at Shoreline, Melanie Dodds (our amazing photographer), LisaLyn designs, and our fantastic pedicab drivers.

Love,
Jane and Achilles (aka Sandra and Abe)

P.S. Thanks to my sister Tamara for taking this picture.

Mawwiage is what bwings us togev-vah...

...today!

In 10 hours, Achilles and I will be married. Yay! Wish us luck, Internets!

Love,
Jane

P.S. The weather cooperated. (Knock on wood.) Thank you all for crossing your fingers!

Day after tomorrow

Dear Internets,

Please keep your fingers crossed that the weather really is like this on Friday:


(76 degrees Fahrenheit = 24.4 degrees Celsius)

In other news, bullet points!

• I am up before the sun this morning. I think I've stumbled into a parallel universe or something.
• One of my dearest friends had surgery yesterday to remove a tumor on his spine. He's doing really well, which is a huge, huge relief.
• My friends threw me a surprise shower last night, which was awesome (It was supposed to happen a couple of weeks ago, but I guessed the surprise, so they lied and said they hadn't planned anything. They successfully tricked me last night!) I have the nicest friends both online and off - I am so very lucky.
• I have been running around like a crazy lady this week, but it has been fun. I wish I had this much nervous energy more often - I'm like a machine!
• I can't wait for the wedding. People keep asking me if I'm nervous, but I think I'm just excited. Achilles is terrified of being the center of attention, so he's nervous enough for both of us.

Rereading this blog post, it's clear that I probably need to burn off some extra energy. I'm going to go for a run . (Who is this person who has taken over my body, and how do I get her to stick around??)

Love you all bunches, and can't wait to show you wedding pictures,
Jane

One (1) week

Oh Internets...


The wedding is a week away.


In seven days, I will have a husband. I will be a wife.


I will have in-laws.


("Whoa..." says the Joey Lawrence voice inside my head.)

A million thoughts are mud wrestling in my brain. My to-do list is a mile long. All I can manage to say is "I'm glad I don't have to do this alone."

Yours truly (at least until my head explodes),
Jane


P.S. In ten days, I will be performing stand-up. (Three days after the wedding.)(I know.)(It seemed like a good idea at the time...)

Distractible mechanic

Dear Internets,

The last time I took Lola the Corolla in for an oil change, the mechanic offered to change the air filter for the low low price of $60. (A month before, the Toyota dealership offered to do it for $120). This seemed a wee bit pricey.

Instead, I went to O'Reilly Auto Parts, joked with the guy behind the counter about how "proud" the dealership was of its air filters, and walked out with an air filter that cost $12.99. I drove home, found some instructions online, and popped Lola's hood. Five minutes later, I had replaced the air filter myself.

I saved myself $50 and feel like a total grease monkey. It was totally worth it.

Yours truly (greasy fingers and all),
Jane

SXSW Etiquette

Dear SXSW-ers,

Welcome to Austin! Thank you for coming to visit our fair city and dump lots of money into our local economy. We really appreciate it! Here are a few things you should know about visiting Austin:

• It's 70 degrees outside right now with no clouds in the sky. No, the weather is not always this nice. We go weeks at a time with 100+ degree weather in the summer.
• Besides, once you've lived here for a few years, you'll develop severe seasonal allergies that will often prevent you from venturing outside to enjoy the nice weather when we do happen to have it.
• Yes, the traffic is usually this bad.
• Yes, we do have scorpions. And giant flying cockroaches.
• No, we don't want you to move here. Why do you ask?
• If you go to a greasy hole-in-the-wall restaurant, it is considered rude to order off the menu. If you want a whole wheat tortilla with unseasoned white meat chicken, lettuce and tomato, you should probably just make it yourself.
• Everything tastes better with queso.
• We can tell you're from out of town even though you're dressed like a Slackers fanboy (or fangirl). Perhaps it's your aura, or the way you talk. More likely it's because you ironed your blue jeans.
• Even though you're on vacation, we're not. Please stay out of the way of commuters.
• Don't insult breakfast tacos, Bevo, Willie Nelson, or the rest of Texas (only we get to pick on our brother and sister cities), and we should all get along just fine.

Enjoy your stay!

Love,
Jane

Apologies

Dear Internets,

I'm going to apologize in advance for the likely lack of quality posts and comments from the Jane-iverse the rest of this month. Between last-minute wedding details, comedy class, dance class, funerals, work, second work, and the sunshine and warm weather, it's been somewhat hard for me to find time to sit in front of a computer and be thoughtful.

Here are a few random thoughts:

• I baked a half batch of peanut butter cookies last night and ate them all (minus one or two eaten by Achilles) at one sitting. Just what I need to do two weeks before the wedding. But mmmm.... The texture was perfect. It really does help to get the butter to the perfect temperature when you're baking.
• I should totally invent something that makes sure the butter is the perfect temperature for baking
• Probably that is beyond my capabilities. Or someone has already invented it. Oh well.
• Celebrities: crack is whack, but mixing pills kills. Just because a drug isn't illegal doesn't mean it won't go midieval (on you). Hugs not prescription drugs, people. (I will keep coming up with stupid rhymes and puns until you young, talented, beautiful, rich people either stop killing yourselves or start sending me your money instead of blowing it swallowing it with a chaser of vodka. Consider this your warning.)

Clearly, thinking is not my strong suit right now. I still love you Internets!

Love,
Jane

Jane in real life

Dear Internets,

Howdy! If you're going to be in Austin during the next two weeks, I'd love to have a chance to meet you at one of the following:

1. The 20 Something Bloggers/Glass SXSWi happy hour.
2. My comedy class performance (as long as you promise not to heckle me.)
   
   click to print

I have many updates to make later this week when I'm not running around like a headless chicken.

XOXO,
Jane

Umm...

Dear Internets,

Ever since another student in my comedy class pointed out how much I said "um" when I was doing stand-up, I've noticed how much I say it. Internets - I say it all the time! The worst was Wednesday evening at our first dance lesson:

"What's your name?"
"Um, Jane."
"Do you have any dance experience?"
"Um, not really."

Seriously, this "um" business has got to stop. Maybe I should start an "um" jar (like a swear jar, except for when I say "um"). It's madness!

Love,
Um... Jane

Wednesday Bullet Point Weecap

Dear Internets,

I slept through my alarm clock (I think*) this morning. It's always weird to get that extra hour or two of sleep. On one hand, I feel fantastic - yay sleep! On the other, I feel incredibly guilty for being late to work, life, etc. Anyway, I have been leaving a lot of loose ends on this blog lately, so I figured I'd do a quick recap/update.

*My alarm clock is 20 years old. I also "slept through" it a couple of weekends ago. I'm a little worried it might be about to kick the bucket.

• Wedding dress - I think I finally decided on a dress. While it isn't particularly stunning or unique, it's a cute dress, and I think I'll be happy with it. I think I made the mistake of letting too many people have opinions on my dress, which just ended up being stressful.
• My pen pal asked me if I've ever had a crush on a teacher. Short answer: um, yes. I will explain further in the next few days.
• I quit drinking caffeine as part of my last minute diet/exercise plan before the wedding. I don't think my brain really works anymore without caffeine.
  
• Achilles bought us dance lessons as a surprise. We start today. I'm very excited, as this will allow me 1.) not to look quite as foolish at the wedding as I expected to look, and 2.) allow me to cross #21 off my 30 Before 30 list.
• My last comedy class was horrible. I was shaking so much they could actually see me shaking in the back row. I also said "Umm..." 36 times. Don't worry, Internets. I'm still planning to perform and post the video.

I hope your week is flying by, Internets!

Love,
Jane