sickness

That's where I've been.
Sick.

Allergies.
Oak pollen coating everything in fine dust - turning the city to a giant tennis ball.

Oh, and work. Can't stop working now just because you are sick! Not when there are new instruments to finish setting up to get them running!

Really though, I was sick last weekend. Thursday night I woke up twice to change my sweat-soaked shirt and my fever didn't back down until overnight Sunday. So I did actually get to spend my already-a-day-off Friday and then my made-it-a-day-off Monday on the couch. That's also where I wound up each night after waking, again, so incredibly hot that I couldn't even lay next to Collin. Or the cat.
My only symptoms were the ridiculous fever and the constant coughing that kept the both of us up all night.


I started feeling better, minus the bruised rib I caused from coughing nonstop, but working full (or longer) days the rest of this week has wiped me out.

Other things that have been keeping me tired:
Filling custom enameling orders Monday and Tuesday night. I love love love waking up to new orders, whether they're from friends or strangers. Okay, especially from strangers! It really makes my day.

Wednesday I went out with Kara and Anna for dinner at Bistro1245. Nommmm those portabello sandwiches. Ugh. I could eat there everyday. It had been way too long since we've gone down to mid town for food and I need to be willing to drive more than 5 minutes sometimes to savor my old favorites. In town for just a couple days, Kara is home to Florida from NYC for Easter weekend and I am so glad she stopped in Gainesville. I say it all the time that one of our biggest reasons for staying in town is that everyone loves to come visit you. No one moves away and hates this place, so to be the ones who host visitors instead of the ones who travel to their friends is perfect for us!

Thursday wasn't anything fun, but I had to come all the way back into work to read samples that arrived late Wednesday night. It was the longest most drama-filled day ever for our sampler and I'm thankful my backup analyst had a flexible night so that I didn't have to miss dinner with my girls. I rewarded myself for driving all the way out there by getting chick-fil-a on the way home (since both of the ones in town are so far from us). I freaking love their chicken. Forever. But it's hard to keep from eating like all of it on my drive home. Stop lights just make you want a fry.

Now I'm here, working on Friday and pretty set in my decision to leave early as usual on a Friday to hang out at home for the afternoon with the family. I might go by the grocery store to pick up the rest of the sale items for the week I want to buy. I might go by El Indio and pick up mexican food to satisfly the craving I have for it already this morning at 9:15. Damn. 2PM can't come fast enough.

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Strange Days

Life is still full and has been... interesting lately. I haven't done any enameling work since my last big push before I had to send everything down for the show. I ran out of flux in the process and since starting to use it again and do everything right, I'm not about to waste materials and time on an inferior result. I find myself missing it even though it's been stressful.
It's been nice though, I worked long hours at home to finish everything in the past couple months and to make time recently for gardening, house cleaning and general sittin'-on-ass has been wonderful.

Things that have also been wonderful in the past week:

1. The change of seasons. Fall equinox came and went and somehow in North Central Florida, this meant an instant change in weather. The breezes are cooler, the evenings are mild and this morning I had to wear a sweater because it was 56 degrees out. This is particularly awesome because it was the exact same weather pattern the year before for our wedding weekend. How coincidental for our anniversary to come each year with the most glorious weather imaginable.

2. Collin and I planned and installed an invisible trellis for our flowering vines on the backyard fence. The passionflower is still growing like crazy but ran out of room in its little corner and started to spill over into the neighbors yards. Woops. Hey, at least it's pretty. We've been meaning to help out our little yard for weeks now but with working on the show pieces and the incredible heat it just wasn't happening. Pictures soon, although it's "invisible" so they're not as awesome as you might imagine.

3. Also fixed up the front yard some more and replaced some of the boxwoods and flowers that had died since putting them in this spring. Thank you Lowe's for having a 1 year return policy on potted plants. I will never pay for one again this year.

4. Because it is so nice out we were able to walk Early down to the Northeast dog park this week. She and Smokey had a blast and it was fun to see more of our neighborhood that I had yet to discover. Something that makes me want to stay here forever. I need to take a photo tour of our area and show off the picturesque homes we have.

5. Cooking up a storm for Collin and myself. First it was the need to get in the last of the late summer meals. The bbq and burgers and salads (like we won't be eating that kind of thing all winter or something). Now I'm suddenly struck with the urge to bake casseroles and roast pork loin and winter squash. I can feel the knit sweaters and hot cocoa now.

6. Kara came to town! I was able to see one of my best friends (even if just for a few hours) meet her sweet boyfriend whom she's been dating for a year now and catch up. Something about our wedding - Anna and TJ, Kara and Ben and Meggan and Ben all started dating just before then and are still going strong, Rachel and Nick are engaged even. Am I some kind of good luck in love charm or what? We had good times at The Top and a delicious brunch at a new place in town. It's not close to our house but it's right by the interstate which will make for a nice meet up spot with the family in the future.

There were a few things this week that weren't so good.

1. Timmy, the beloved cat of our neighbors at the Fat Tuscan Cafe, was hit by a car and killed this past Saturday morning. This was the same little boy kitty we found and were feeding under our house. I'll never forget the first day we met him and coaxed him into a carrier with some wet food. Man he was pissed. I was crying with laughter at his pitiful little growls he was trying to make while still eating. Grrrnomnomnomrrrnom. So cute. It shouldn't have happened - but it did - and in many ways the situation unfolded in the best ways possible. Whoever hit him was kind enough to move him over to the grass near Eve's driveway. She also was out of town that week. This kept her and Timmy's owners from having to see him first thing that morning or lying there in the road, worse off. Collin and I were able to move him onto an old towel and cover him up (we were already wearing gloves and working in the yard) before getting and telling his owners. I took his collar off for her too, that way if she didn't want to look at him, she would know for sure who it was. This was... hard. I haven't had a reason to cry like this in so long. Collin had the hardest parts of moving Timmy onto the towel and going to tell his owner. I couldn't thank him enough for being strong that day.

2. While we were in the front yard later, working to keep our minds off of it all, our upstairs neighbors cat escaped and sprinted past us into the next door neighbors yard. OMFG are you kidding me? Right after we are emotionally drained by sad kitty issues, we're chasing a cat around a giant yard hoping he hasn't found any of Timmy's pass-throughs. Now I don't mean to brag, but I was the one who was finally able to sprint and catch him - half his body already over the fence - by the tail and the scruff. I carried him back to his home and he was so scared! This one is definitely not an outdoor kitty, and after seeing Timmy that morning and the stress of chasing his own little one around outside, our neighbor has no plans to let him live outdoors.

3. Our new landlord is awesome and helping us in a million ways by fixing up every problem we have with our place and then some. She is however starting to rub me slightly the wrong way over little things like storing items in the garage that we - not she - cleaned out. So we can store our stuff in there. It's silly, and I can't imagine it would ever be a real issue, but Eve and I were talking last night and both were a bit taken back by how she seemed to think that it's in any way cluttered at the moment. Maybe I need to show her some photos of what cluttered really looks like.

4. I took photos of all the last pieces I made for the show and promptly forgot to load them on the computer. By the time I noticed, Collin's sister had already taken her camera home and erased half of them. Boo. My fault entirely, but I hope she can find them in her recycle folder!!


Tomorrow marks the start of October and it means I need to boogie down and get some Halloween plans started. I want to decorate the house and porch this year, carve pumpkins and figure out a costume that requires minimal effort and money. And one I can easily eat/drink in and doesn't require a wig or face paint. I'm thinking we may make animal masks or costumes and wear them with our regular clothes. Eh?
October will kick off this weekend with a wonderful start.
Thursday night is Ladies Night and then Islands are playing at 1982. Done.
Friday Collin and I are going to the salon to get his hair cut and my nails done. My yearly manicure - what a treat! Then we'll drive with Early Girl down to Sarasota for the gallery reception and hanging out with our friends Matt and Janelle and their dog Toby.
Saturday we have plans to go to the dog beach for Early's first visit with dinner later that evening to celebrate the one-year anniversaries in the family. Also that night, more catching up with old friends and visiting our favorite Sarasota eateries. Including Muncheez 420 Cafe - a spot close to the bars that was recently featured on the Sarasota episode of Man vs. Food.
Sunday we'll pick up freezer goodies from Granny on our way out of town before driving back for a quiet evening on our real anniversary. Maybe a movie in with some popcorn and, weather permitting, a cozy fire.
Then, it's back to the grind. If only it were like last year and I had next week off and we were looking towards vacation in Savannah.

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Team McLeod : The Bridal Party Portraits

Even with a total of 14 attendants we didn't budget too much time to formal portrait photography. Posed photos are nice, but they're not how I wanted to remember the day. Plus, they're boring, and it's hard to get a few people to all look good in a picture let alone 16. Everyone worked together to make this happen fast and I cannot express how much I appreciated that. My favorite photos of our friends are candids - ones with their mouths hanging open in laughter or a silly expression while busting a move. These photos though, I love because we're all together.
Jump! I hate jumping pictures - that's why our feet stayed firmly planted on the ground. After less than a minute of these I was already saying "Enough!". Rachel and the other ladies whose dresses were kept in place by tape were in full agreement. You can even see her hand is on her chest to keep that baby up.

Here is the obligatory laugh-and-act-casual pose. Some of us are more comfortable faking it and hamming it up than others.

kara, janie, meggan, rachel, ashley, kat, anna

Introducing the bridesmaids. First up is Maid of Honor Rachel. We met in Mrs. Soderquist's second grade class and were fast friends. She is the woman I can go to for anything. My best friend through elementary, middle, and highschool on through college. She is the reason Collin and I met, both times. Sure we all went to middle school together but it wasn't until the end of highschool that I actually met Collin. I was at a going-away party for Rachel when I found myself at a table next to a cute blonde boy. I remember we talked about being Irish and never getting a tan and distinct exclamations of "so you're Collin!" and "you're the Lindsey I hear about all the time." Two years later I would find myself on Rachel's porch in Gainesville when who else would walk up but Collin and Gabe. Our relationship didn't start for nearly another two years but it all comes back to her.

I also met Ashley in second grade. This time, it was ballet class. We were friends in ballet but not outside the studio until 4th grade when she came to visit our class to start in the gifted program. She just so happened to visit when we were giving presentations about our favorite author. We met again with me dressed as Louisa May Alcott. She's the only one of my friends to have been married herself and is the mother of a beautiful little girl. I am grateful she is always there for advice.


Kara and I also met in dance class, jazz to be exact. We always partnered up one day when our usal partner friends were out sick and it stuck. She is the only one of us who continued in dance all the way through college and is now living the dream in NYC with Rachel. I can't wait to be able to get up to the city to finally see her in a show.

Anna and I met in third grade even though she also went to the same dance studio and was already friends with the other three girls. She entered the gifted class with Rachel and I that year and we became friends. Anna was my Gainesville local throughout the wedding planning process. We spent many dinners at The Top talking about flowers and dresses and the groomsmen. In just a couple more years she'll be a doctor of audiology; definitely the most dedicated of us all. I look up to her in more ways than I think she knows.

These four women have been in my life through everything. Every awkward phase, every teenage drama, every college crisis and now through real adult trials and triumphs. They are my rocks - yes, I get to have many. We've all been closer and farther apart (physically and emotionally) over the last 15 years but we've made it. We stuck it out and stayed together so much longer than most girls can. We've all changed so much but I know we will travel our lives together in some way. These women I'll refer to as my laark ladies. The acronym stands for our first name initials and is the title to our collective private blog where we get together to catch up and spill our guts. It is a wonderful haven for us and one of the only ways we can keep in touch being scattered in different cities. I love these women.

Kathryn is my brothers long-time girlfriend. I usually refer to her as his 'Lady' because the term girlfriend just seems to trite. She is wonderful and fun and compliments him so well. I am happy to have her in our family and happy that she agreed to be a bridesmaid even though she once said she'd never be in another wedding again. Hah!


A nice individual portrait of Meggan isn't here. Sadface. She wasn't around when Djamel caught the girls all together for these photos. Thankfully we found a nice shot to crop in on her for the page in the album with the rest of these. It's not perfect, but she's there. I couldn't have ever asked for a better sister-in-law than her. Really, she's sweet and caring and we have so much fun hanging out. She's not too much younger than Collin and I and she's local to Gainesville which makes it easy to get together. She even has a creative streak like me and has become my thrifting/crafting/photography partner since I've moved to here.

Janie is the youngest of the bridesmaids, I called her a jr. bridesmaid to be exact. Originally with six other attendants already we weren't going to have flower girls or anything like that. We didn't have anyone the 'right' age and weren't planning on inviting kids under 15 or so to the wedding at all. Then I remembered my cousin Liz's wedding - where I was a jr. bridesmaid. It was amazing. I felt so special and beautiful in my dress and I was so important that I even got to be there when the bride was getting ready and everything! I wanted to give Janie this, so when I mailed out cards to the other women asking them if they would be in my wedding party, I sent one along to her too.


The girls on the right in this picture had it easy. The wind was gusting their hair into perfect modeling conditions while it was blowing the hair of the rest of them right into their faces. Good thing I had an updo locked down with a can of aquanet. I thought it was really interesting how all the bridesmaids chose to wear their hair down and curled (minus Rachel, of course). Every one of them was stunning that day. See, hottest bridesmaids ever.
So sweet. All the ladies just love Collin so much, but I don't blame them.
This is what happens when you instruct a big group of guys who don't usually have to stand for "wedding photos" to jump. They all go straight up in the exact same place.

Forrest, Sagar, Gabe, Kevin, Thomas, Sam and Asa

If only I had individual portraits to introduce you all to the groomsmen - but I don't. Suffice it to say that except my brother Asa, Collin has known his attendants from childhood too. He and Kevin, BFF's since age three and Thomas is Kevin's little brother. Forrest, Sam and he would skateboard around their Sarasota neighborhood. He and Sagar met in middle school. Gabe is the only person he met after moving away and even he is from Sarasota, too. They lived together for three years in a great big animal house before the three of us moved into our current home together. Who better to be the Best Man than the person who lives with us every day.
Now for some silly photos. I wanted a few pictures with just the four friend bridesmaids...
This quickly turned into Spice Girls posing and a throwback to our middle school days.
The guys got all West Side Story and were snapping away walking down the lawn. I think it was hard for Djamel to get them to really loosen up (see: jumping photo) but they ended up having fun and getting excelent shots.
While different groups were being photographed, the others had fun:




Before we knew it there were guests arriving and the music and decorations were still being set up. I admit, I started to panic. "They couldn't see the bride before the wedding! What are those arrangements doing on that table? Where are the cocktail hour linens?!" With my first opportunity to look around I was starting to see a lot of things being done, well, wrong.
Didn't anyone read that 14-page packet I spent so much time making? The one that had a diagram of the exact setup, the layout of each table, information about which flowers went where.
The bridesmaids and I went inside to get our first look and again, more mistakes. I started to re-arrange a few things myself when Kat picked up on my stress and decided to go swipe a bottle of champagne from the cooler. Brilliant. I shouted a few more directions at the coordinators for the day and was off to try and calm down. Too close to crying, I sat on the stairs of the parlor room and tried to keep it together. Kara poured a glass for each of us and by the end of a toast, I was ready. I don't even know what she said, but it took my mind off the superficial long enough for me to collect myself and remember that I was getting married and as long as that happened, the day was a success.

Just then the coordinator came in to say, "It's time." We went out the side door to line up and I downed the last of my champagne. This was it.
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