downyjasmine's Xanga

Thank you, Jon Stewart

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 17:20:48 GMT

And, finally, thank you, Associated Press.

*PS - Jill, this is not in response to you, just my own findings around the interweb that I wanted to share.

Saturday, June 28, 2008

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 01:43:04 GMT

This movie was WONDERFUL!!! If you like art or history, you'll probably like it too. One of the best movies I've seen in a long time.

Thank you! and Wedding Dress Indecision

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 18:19:12 GMT

After a bit of a wait, we finally got our thank you cards in the mail today! I'm so pleased with them. They look really good! I guess our time of not writing thank you notes has come to its end. It's been so lovely being lazy, but now back to work!

Here's the photo that we chose for the front:

We went with this sort of thank you card for a number of reasons:
1. It's more personal than pre-printed cards.
2. It's quite a bit cheaper than most pre-printed cards I'd seen. I think we paid $0.59 each!
3. We thought our guests might like a photo of us from that day.

I'm really happy with them. The image is of really good quality on the card, yet it's done on normalish paper so that writing on them won't be an issue. If you got us a gift, you can count on receiving yours soon! And, thank you here and now! Now that I've said that, I better get to writing....

As for the other topic in the title, I'm at a complete loss as to what to do with my wedding dress now.

I need to have it cleaned. It's not in horrible shape. The holes in the train (ripped at the reception) were kindly repaired by my mother-in-law. So, aside from some dirt, it's in really good shape. Before the wedding, I was all set to donate it one of a variety of organizations that will resell it for some sort of good in the world. But after, I'm not sure I'm ready to part with it. I LOVE this dress. I was so comfortable in it, I felt really beautiful in it, so I'm just not sure what to do. It would be nice to keep, but I am also realistic. I can see no time in the future when I will ever wear it again. I can also see no time in the future that it will live anywhere except the back of my closet. There's no reason to keep it out. I have pictures and a husband to remind me of that day. I started thinking about all of this again today while doing a little research. I looked around the site of Brides Against Breast Cancer this morning, and am really starting to reconsider my newfound attachment to my dress. There are a lot of benefits to donating: it's tax deductible, when they resell my dress all of the proceeds will go towards their mission*, I don't have to worry about moving this dress from city to city for the rest of my life as it collects dust. I really doubt any daughter of mine will want to wear it. Even after all of this back and forth, I'm still undecided. I can send it in to the organization, or take it a dress sale they're having in the Philly area in November. I guess I have plenty of time to decide, so we'll see. Any thoughts?

*“To provide an opportunity for metastatic breast cancer patients’ dream or wish to be fulfilled by providing a special time of 'Making Memories' together with their families, a chance that might not have become a reality without the assistance of the Making Memories Breast Cancer Foundation."

I'm back!

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 13:12:53 GMT

Well, I've actually been back for a couple of days. The wedding was fantastic, the honeymoon was amazing, and it's so nice to be back home with our kitties. There are lots of pictures running around on facebook, so I'd check there. If you aren't on facebook and want to see pictures, let me know and I'll send you a link.

Things in Philly are going well so far. We have a lot of work to do to set up my apartment for two of us, figure out where to put all of our amazing wedding gifts (people were incredibly generous), and get to work. Nick has already started setting up his job search, and I have a class to put together. If my class doesn't make, I'll have to do a little job search myself...

The major task of yesterday was a little trip to the social security office and the DMV. Yes folks, I am now officially a married lady with a new last name. It's WEIRD. I need to work more on my new signature because it sort of looks like a 10 year old wrote it. Funny story: when I was at the DMV and I went to the lady who takes the pictures (a different step than the application, document check, etc) she asked me if I had just passed my driver's test. I said no, I had just gotten married and was changing my name. I guess this means I look 16?

So, things are pretty good, except for the fact that my computer crashed again yesterday. Looks like I'll be buying a new one in the very near future. Bummer. Those are expensive. Hopefully I'll get back into blogging regularly. It's been several months since I was consistent, but things are getting back to normal slowly but surely.

Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Tue, 20 May 2008 03:11:08 GMT

Yippeeeeeeeeeee!!! I'm getting so excited!! I am NOT stressed, so everyone can stop telling me to calm down and not stress out. I'm just super, super excited for this weekend.

In one week, I'll be relaxing on the beach for 10 days and 11 nights :)

I'm home!!

Thu, 08 May 2008 22:00:36 GMT

Yes friends, it's true, I'M HOME!! I'm so happy to be home. Nick is here, my kitties are here, I am here. It is happy. Our apartment is a mess, but that's ok. I saw Sarah yesterday, I'll see my Temple friends tomorrow, and then Nick and I leave again on Monday morning for Missouri. Our wedding is swiftly approaching (16 days!!!) and then the honeymoon, and then hopefully things will calm down a bit. It's been a whirlwind, but fun. I'm so glad all of these stressful things are almost over, though. Friends, ELOPE. That's my advice of the day.

So, I think I'll have to ease my way back into blogging but I'll try. I've missed reading up on my friends obsessively.

Non dormo bene

Tue, 15 Apr 2008 15:00:38 GMT

Ugh, so I come home in 21 days. This is a good thing and a bad thing. Good because I get my old life back with the fabulous addition of non-stop Nicholas, bad because I have so many things left on my to-do list here. Will she get it all done, folks? Stay tuned....

In less exciting news, I've been sick the last several days, and not helping that is the fact that my body refuses to sleep when I tell it to. The last several nights have been miserable. Even when drugged, with Dramamine or Tylenol Cold Nighttime, I can't fall asleep. It takes hours, even with drugs! Last night I tried it au natural, and couldn't get my brain to turn off. I've had this problem in the past, but rarely so many nights in a row. It's really unpleasant.

I'm to the point that I think I'm just psyching myself out. I lay in bed knowing I won't be able to fall asleep, so my brain won't shut up. I hope tonight will break the pattern, since I have to get up EARLY to get an early train to Padua. Should be fun if I can stay awake. And it stops raining. It's been raining for nearly 2 weeks. It's so depressing.

What a whiny rant. Sorry. It must be the crankiness from the lack of sleep.

I heart fritelle

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:40:46 GMT

That picture of me over to the left? Replace that cupcake with a fritella, a delightful pastry, donut-like thing that is in all the bakeries at this time of year in Venice. I've had one nearly every day. Yum.

Things are nice here in Venice. It's still rather cold, but I'm dealing with it. I look forward to slightly warmer weather. It shouldn't get too hot while I'm here at all. Fortunately.

Carnevale should be pretty crazy for the next few nights. I may be going as Baby Spice, with a whole posse of other spices. I figure I'll wear pigtails and give a peace sign a lot? We'll see.

Anyway, like I said in my last blog, if you're interested in what's happening with me, read my Venice blog! It's much more up to date and comprehensive. I'll probably only stop by here to read on occasion, and maybe right if I'm bored AND have an internet connection. Such coincidences will rarely exist.

Thursday, January 24, 2008

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 12:47:22 GMT

I'm in Venice!!! Woohoo! When I'm more focused and have a more regular internet connection, I'll do a better update, but check out the Venice blog for more info. I'll leave you with this.

Home?

Tue, 15 Jan 2008 23:05:05 GMT

After a long day of travel and a bit of a delayed flight, I'm back in Philadelphia, however briefly. Sarah, the bestest best friend in the whole wide world has taken care of so many things for me, including sitting in rush hour traffic both directions from the airport. I've promised her my first four children for all that she's done for me. She doesn't want them.

And then I start thinking about my passport crisis, which you can read about here. And then I commence freaking out. Must. not. freak. out.

And yes, friends, there is the link to my Venice blog. I'm keeping them separate, as my Venice blog is a bit more public (to those who actually know me) than this one. Here's hoping that I actually make it to Venice on Thursday.