A few of my favorite things about our wedding...

I want to publish a euphoric, jubilant post even though I haven't been too happy in the past week or two. However, the weather is wonderful right now. Our wedding plans are really coming into place now and that makes me very glad. I haven't been stressed out about it lately at all. Honestly, I just dread going to work every day. Mostly, it is because I am like the pariah of the work environment. I'm truly not myself there because I never want to talk to anyone. I just want to feel free, happy, and myself, and none of that seems to fit where I work. I think what I just said is like the Declaration of Independence (or the declaration to be me!).

Anyway, here is a small list. I'm also happy because we are saving money. Brian and I are a frugal couple and we don't want to overspend.

- I love my dress! It is really different from other dresses and it seems to be practical. Maybe practical and wedding dress don't really go together, but hey, I get to wear mine twice! Also, my shoes are so cute. They are peep-toed shoes and they are great.

- The flowers will be beautiful! My bouquet will have hydrangeas, white roses, and blue thistle (which I will use to ensnare Brian; someone in mythology used the thistle to ensnare a man). I just love hydrangeas, period.

- My cake ladies are making cupcakes frosted like blue hydrangeas for the dinner after the ceremony and the reception. We'll be having several flavors at the reception, including chocolate, yellow, red velvet, spice, and perhaps even pistachio.

- The organist is a very talented woman who has played for a few of the AVM concerts. She will be playing the processional to "The Sound of Music" while I walk down the aisle. Hopefully, she will be playing Debussy as well.

- Bobby's quartet/quintet will be great, I'm sure. Brian and I don't have a first dance song yet (I want something by Chicago and I think he wants something instrumental).

- Our honeymoon to Bar Harbor, ME/Nova Scotia/PEI should be wonderful! We booked the trip a few weeks ago and are totally psyched.

-The thing I am most looking forward to is seeing my friends and family at the ceremony and reception. That will be the best part-- sharing the memories with them and with Brian.

I don't look forward to going to work tomorrow, but I do look forward to seeing saxophonist Kenny Garrett at the Regatta Bar in Cambridge. Also, I'm trying to convince Brian to drive to Waterbury, CT, to see our boy Ralph Nader on Sunday. Brian did, in fact, donate $100 to Nader's campaign. We might as well reap a benefit from the donation.

My trip to Plimoth Plantation...and beyond

Last weekend, I took my first trip to Plimoth Plantation in Plymouth, Massachusetts. Oh, you know, where the Pilgrims landed! Plymouth is part of my indoctrination into becoming a New Englander. My friends from graduate school, Mary and Natrya, and I love to take historical field trips. They came with me for my day with Flat Stanley, too! We headed to the South Shore on a cold, overcast Sunday from the Riverside T Station and landed at Plimoth Plantation (haha) about an hour later. The three of us were able to get into the the historical site for a reasonable price with a library pass and a AAA discount (I'm so glad I joined last week). First, we watched a movie about what to expect at Plimoth, and I have to say I'm really glad we did. We started our journey by looking at an exhibit about the myth and meaning of Thanksgiving, which made me reminisce about my grade school education of the Pilgrims and Indians. Then we headed to the Wamponoag family site where Native Americans worked and talked (in modern day English; bear with me, this will be important in a minute) about life back in the seventeenth century, while a tourist lit his cigarette on the cooking fire and couldn't help himself from touching the sharp arrows, even when the nice women asked him not to. Some people at historical sites are really annoying. One time at a special event at Locust Grove, this uppity woman (who probably drove some kind of luxury car or SUV) brought her lapdog into the two-hundred year old home of George Rogers Clark and then tells me that I am rude for asking her to leave (very politely, I might add).

We continued our journey on the Eel Riverwalk to the 1627 colonial village, where we really met 1627 pilgrims (no, they were actors, but one guy appeared not to have showered for a very long time). They spoke in seventeenth century English and were well-educated in speech and common knowledge of the Puritan/Pilgrim. Considering the drab, cold weather, it really felt like we were there with the Pilgrims in 1627. I hope I get to go in the fall sometime, although I know it gets very crowded with schoolgroups and tourists. Other parts of Plimoth Plantation included a crafts center and a barn with heritage breeds from the seventeenth century. We saw some very cute goats. :)

My overall evaluation of Plimoth Plantation was good, although it was a little too real for me. Professor Green would kill me for saying this, but I sometimes like the "sanitized" recreation of history like it is presented at Old Sturbridge Village and Williamsburg. I hope that doesn't sound terrible. Please don't hate me, Prof. Green.

After we visited the plantation, we went to lunch in downtown Plymouth at The Weathervane, where we had some yummy seafood. It was still cold and rainy afterwards, so we didn't have the best tour of downtown Plymouth or of the Mayflower II (an exact replica of the original Mayflower built in 1957). The ship was really interesting and I can't believe that 102 passengers were on the ship together for so many months.

We attempted to get ice cream at a local place in Plymouth, but like many stores and museums that were closed until summer or for construction, it was also closed, so we all had wonderful sundaes and treats at Friendly's, a great New England staple. Then we drove to Parting Ways, which Mary is writing about for her research seminar, as well as Mary's very cool house, complete with lots of chickens, rabbits, cats, and dogs. It was very cozy and I bet it was a lot a fun to grow up there. On the way back to Riverside, we saw lots of very cool cranberry bogs, which are also a unique part of New England.

Well, I tried to publish this earlier but Mary beat me to the punch!

I Heart Trader Joe's...

Hopefully, this has never been a title of my blog in the past. If it was, please forgive me.

Work has been fine this week and the weather has been getting a little better each day. That is excellent.

I had a wonderful dream the other night that I was Julie Andrews. I adore her; she is wonderful woman who used to possess the most beautiful voice ever. Her diction was great and tone was pure. Unfortunately, because of some complications during vocal chord surgery, she can no longer sing the way that she used to. I told a few people that if I could sing like anyone, it would be Julie Andrews.

Monday night, I had choir as usual. We are rehearsing this new work entitled "The Armed Man: A Mass for Peace" by Karl Jenkins. This is a very interesting work and it's growing on me. There is a wine and cheese party for the director on Saturday night. I'm going with a few of the older ladies in choir who live near me, and it should be fun, I think.

Yesterday, I picked up the discounted museum passes to Plimoth plantation (Mary, Natyra, and I are going there on Sunday!) and I also went to Target to use the gift card Mel and Yvette (my stepsisters) gave me for the shower. I bought "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama for Brian. I figure that even though we are voting for Nader, we can still read the books by the other candidate we like. I also bought some mineral blush from Maybelline because I love the mineral loose powder I bought from Katherine. By the way, I will buy some from you the next time, Katherine. :) Target is such a great store; that is one of the reasons I registered there for the wedding. Brian and I had gnocchi and green bean casserole for dinner and then I talked to Paul and my brother on the phone. I'm trying to plan a trip to Philadelphia in May or June. The flights there are relatively inexpensive, and I would rather fly than drive because of the hullabaloo that is the Eastern seaboard traffic jam of Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey combined. Paul and I will probably go to Amish country and I can also observe him teaching in New Hope. i miss traveling and wish I could do it more often. And Eliot just told me that he and Sarah will travel to Italy for their honeymoon! As in the words of Napoleon Dynamite, "Luckyyyyyy."

My friend Gouri and I had dinner at Panera bread in Westborough this evening. It was nice to see her; she is a really good person with a kind heart. I just wish we could meet up more often. She has good advice about parenting and life in general. And I like to talk to her about the differences between the United States and India. It's very interesting. I asked her what she likes most about the U.S. tonight and she said she like the roads and feeling very connected because she can drive everywhere. However, she doesn't like the education system as much as in India. There are a lot of problems with kids in the United States. I'm sure I wiil learn more about that in the new few months. I dropped Gouri off at her house and went to Trader Joe's, my favorite grocery store on the planet. It's like a smaller, cheaper Whole Foods with a unique theme and a very friendly staff. I can't wait to try the shrimp gyoza I bought!

Gotta go because Top Chef is on Bravo right now! My favorite show of the moment!