It's been "facebook official" for a few weeks now ─ I'm getting married!! And with only 10 weeks until the big day, I'm working feverishly to get everything ready. But there is just so much that needs to get done. Hell, I haven't even handed out all of the invitations yet!

So my return to blogging is meant to help me stay organized through this crazy planning process. I'll be posting inspiration, progress shots, and itty bitty rants about the things that aren't quite going as I had hoped.

But today I thought I would take a minute to post an exciting photo from this afternoon...

See that little green sprout pushing it's way through the soil? That's a future pea plant. I spent Friday afternoon on the deck planting tomato, sweet basil, and pea seeds ─ and just three days later I found this little guy!

Little pinky and I are home alone right now, so we went on grooveshark.com and found Snack Time by The Bare Naked Ladies. She seems indifferent to it, but I love the change in tunes. I found myself humming a song from her favorite cd while I was in the shower this morning. Not cool at all.

So, as you may have guessed, I am still sick. I've asked around, and the consensus is that I can expect to be under the weather for a solid month. The change in environment and exposure to different virus strands will leave me feeling sick and sluggish for weeks, I'm told. Which is fine, I guess. Now that I know what I'm up against I can buck up and quit feeling sorry for myself. Besides, all of the sneezing and coughing and general grossness has not stopped me from having a great week.

Last Saturday night I had dinner at Cameron's house and we went to Clubkeller to see Thommy dj. We lucked out and met a really fun, adorable couple -- Jon (American) and Anne (German). The place filled up after midnight, giving Anne and I plenty of targets for our sarcastic remarks. We acted as Statler and Waldorf all night, and it was wickedly wonderful. But I really need to remember to check the clock while I'm out in Germany -- there is no last call to tell you it's time to go home, and I wound up leaving the bar at six in the morning!

The rest of the week has been full of hang out time with Cameron. I'm so lucky that she lives just down the road, and that our kids are friends. She's willing to go out to shows with me, she cracks me up, and she's more generous than you can imagine. She's the chick responsible for bringing all of the au pairs in Frankfurt together, and we all owe her a huge "thank you"!

Speaking of au pairs, we had a meetup on Thursday.

I made my way to the Hauptbahnhof to meet everyone at O'Reileys, but I got lost in the red light district on my way. How can something be so shiny and dirty at the same time? Cameron seemed super glad that I finally made it in one piece!

(You can click on the pictures to make them larger, if you like.)

The bar was a really cool Irish Pub with terrible service and a great beer selection...


... though we had one Killkenny casualty...



... probably because we were being too goofy.



Couldn't have asked for a better Thursday.


Tonight's agenda includes Cameron, Thommy, Anne, Jon, cameras, Thai food, music, and beer.

At least my bed is comfy...

Well, I'm still sick. It's been 7 days of various colds -- just as I seem to be over one, a few hours later a new symptom appears. I have gone from sinus pains, to swollen tonsils, to ear aches, to green snot. I'm a lovely sight right now.

So my spare time this week has mostly been spent in bed. My bedside table and surrounding floor space have become a dumping ground for used tissues; and my bed is full of books, crocheting, and a constant stream of True Blood episodes because even I can't sleep for more than 14 hours a day. All this time in bed has made my back quite stiff, and it has reminded me of where I was this time last year.

September 25th of last year I slipped on a wet floor. With no apparent damage done, aside from much embarrassment, I headed home and had a normal evening. But the next morning I could barely walk. Things got progressively worse until I had family and friends putting on my socks, shaving my legs, and helping me out of bed. I spent the fall wearing skirts (sans tights) because pulling on a skirt took less of a struggle than maneuvering into pants. A month of expensive physiotherapy appointments offered little relief, and I would spend my nights crying in bed and my days working on as little as two hours of sleep. I was a wreck for months.

But eventually I found a wonderful chiropractor who was able to get me back on track. I stopped taking pain killers, my limp disappeared and I could tie my own shoes again! It's incredible to think of how far I've come in the last year, but I still have so far to go.

I need to walk every day in order to stay limber, and I still need a chiropractic adjustment every month. Another fall could quite easily throw a year of progress out the window, so I don't dare do anything that could risk it -- you wont even catch me on a bike. But possibly the hardest thing to deal with right now is the weight gain that happened over months of limited mobility and recuperation. I usually don't beat myself up about it, but the kids have mentioned a few times now how "thick" I am. And my standby answer of "It just makes me more huggable!" doesn't seem to cut it.

So, that being said, I'm going to enjoy this sunny October afternoon and go for a walk.

Today is Holly's birthday!

Holly is beautiful, hilarious, and generous beyond belief. I miss her dearly.

Have a happy birthday, hun! I wish I could be there to split a pitcher and laugh at your jokes. Instead, I'll be running through a field of J.P.s in your honour!

xoxo

The weather here in Frankfurt has taken a chilly turn. I think it's officially autumn, which suits me just fine. But colder weather means runny noses, and living with three kids means a continuous game of Pass What Ails Ya. The rules are simple:

1. Don't cover your mouth when you sneeze.
2. Touch everything, always. Even if it isn't yours.
3. Pretend to understand the importance of washing your hands when it is explained to you by an adult. And then proceed to only wash your hands at bedtime.
4. Have a much stronger immune system than everyone else, and watch as they suffer for days longer than you.

I spent the morning in bed with a gross sinus cold. So I had to depend on youtube to cheer me up. Enjoy my findings!

Don't tell me you didn't see this coming...

This wedding is guaranteed to be "practically perfect in every way"!

So typical.

I have just finished an entire pot of Tetley Tea, and now I'm watching Mary Poppins with the children. I think I need to buy a new umbrella.

And, naturally, I need to find my very own Dick Van Dyke. So I wondered if he had any hot, young, and eligable grandchildren...

Now looky who I found! Cha-ching! Oooo, he's a 25 year old artist!


Step 1: Meet Wesley.
Step 2: Woo Wesley.
Step 3: Have a Mary Poppins themed wedding with Wesley.