Lather. Rinse. Repeat.

So much of life has been "going through the motions" as of late. Wake up, go to work, go to see Dad, go home and make futile attempt to relax, sleep, repeat.

Dad's doing well; therapy is hard on him and the assisted living facility leaves a lot to be desired. Every single day there's a new issue there. And so few people to share the burden. A non-issue if there weren't so many who SHOULD be taking some weight.

Wedding planning is rolling along. So many things have fallen perfectly into place that they feel meant to be. The date is officially October 3, 2009. We were originally set on November 24th '09 (our 6 year anniversary).... but the added stress of securing vacation time the week of Thanksgiving seemed like a silly thing to take on. Ocotber 3rd came about because it's a full moon, which will hopefully translate to some pretty night-beach pictures.

The condo in Ma'alea we want is available the days we want it.

The hair and makeup stylists I want are available... check out my hair-spiration...

Still waiting for the ring to get back from the designer- since we had a very specific idea of what we wanted for our center stone, we purchased it on its own (perfect, gorgoeus, everything I ever wanted- rectangular radiant cut, .78ct). That meant that any setting we chose would have to be augmented to hold that specific stone.

Well, we found the PERFECT setting,

but the way that the center stone is set, the whole ring had to be re-crafted to fit. The process started on September 6th and the jeweler estimated it would be back in and ready to set on October 2nd.... new date of estimation is October 21st....

I'm trying to enjoy the suspense, you only get to do it (hopefully) once.

But...

I feel strongly about a year-long engagment, its a propriety thing, and (though this is no good reason) it'll be one less thing for my family to mutter about behind my back.

So engagement announcements are still going out, ring or no ring. The intention hasn't changed.

Photo shoot is on Tuesday- I've always wanted my cousin Kristen to shoot our engagement photos but at the moment she is very pregnant and I don't want to add another chore onto days that already feel longer than they should. A friend from work is filling in, fingers crossed..... depending on the outcome I may still ask my poor, pregnant, ever-loving cousin to step in, but I hate to ask favors of her right now.