Wedding Planning Update

I'm now a wedding planner. I'm planning my sister's wedding and dinner reception for approx 215 people, along with my mother, of course.

So here's where we are in the process:
Caterer? Check. Tasting is done and boy is it yummy, esp. those sweet potato biscuits!
Cake? Check. And freakishly delicious!!
Ceremony Venue? Check. Beautiful and filled with meaning for my g'parents, which is one of the best parts.
Reception venue? Check. Also filled with meaning for my g'parents and the entire fam, as it is in their yard!!
Rentals? Check. Tent, chairs, tables, linens, silverware, plates, glasses --SO many details, yikes-a-be!
DJ? As of tonight, Check!! Excited to have Paul from Upstate Swing (he taught my sister swing at Clemson)
Flowers? Getting there. Do you know how many green and white flowers there are? I do!
Favors? An apple dipped in chocolate, already tasted, and it's de-li-cious!
Seating chart? We're using oysters!!!! I won't tell how now but after the fact there sure will be pics!!
Save-the-dates? Signed, sealed, delivered!!
Invitations? They're in! But now we have to address them . . . yikes-a-be (all-over again)!
Programs? I'm working on it. . . we should probably choose the music first, though.
Music? Organist: hired. Songs chosen: no way jose--we need to work on that.
Minister? Check.
Bridesmaid dresses? Ordered!
Groom/Groomsmen suits? Ordered!
Bridal Gown? Ordered!! And y'all: she's going to look B-E-A-U-TIFUL!!!!

It's the things like the marriage license that need to be remembered (which by the way needs to be applied for), everything else is just extra "icing."

So, I'm learning a lot and staying busy this summer! You know, some people may say this is all fluff but my sister and her fiance really desperately want to celebrate the Lord at their ceremony and then celebrate their union at the reception as well as the people that have surrounded, loved, and prayed for them throughout their lives! What a joyful day it will be!! And I can't wait to sit back and celebrate them and dance the night away beneath the stars and the light of the lanterns hanging in the oak trees. Oh, it's going to be beautiful!

Happy things!

There's so much fun to be had in the next few days, weeks, and months!!!
- This weekend a good friend is getting married and I'm looking forward to wearing a brand new dress (that I got from J. Crew for a fifth of the original price) and dancing up a storm.
- Next week I am done with phlebotomy and will be officially certified to work. And my sister has a wedding shower!
- The next week I take a trip to Clemson to drop off a load of furniture/clothes/all-manner-of-stuff
- The next week I'm going to Maine, New Hampshire, AND Vermont! And will be eating lobster (something I have NEVER done before), biking a lot, and going sailing!!!
- Then I have two weeks of simply school (and hopefully work, too).
-Then 4 straight weekends of Clemson football in Death Valley!
-Then my sister's bachelorette weekend!!
-THEN MY SISTER GETS MARRIED!!!

So there's my life through October 7th! It's going to be fun, busy, and quite the adventure!!!

I was just thinking about Christmas the other day and how different it will be this year--B and J are with her parents this year, M and D will probably split time between the two sets since their parents live so close together, and I will be the only Wingate at home for the entire thing. I wonder how I will feel about it then, I wonder what will have happened in my life by then. I know I will be done with college and I may know if I'm into grad school or not. Hopefully I will have worked in the hospital for a few months by then and will have gained a lot of experience, how will that affect me? These are the things I wonder. If the months following October 7th are as busy and dynamic as the weeks leading up to that weekend will be, I am in for a wild ride. Who knows what changes will have occurred in my life by the end of December! It's a little scary, I'm not going to lie.
A part of me is laughing at the future and dying to know what's ahead, but the tiny, scared part of me is wanting to hold on tightly to the here and now. This semester will be one of major transition, there's no doubting that. Most days I will be blissfully unaware of the changes occurring and then they will sneak up on me like they have tonight. But that's good too, I would hate to feel like I was in transition every minute of every day!!

Stitches

Did I tell you I had gum surgery??? . . . Probably did. Well, tonight, after a week and a half of stitches in the roof of my mouth I got completely and utterly tired of them, they were becoming sore and painful because sharp food would hit them and poke the ends of the knots into the roof of my mouth! So, what did I do? I got a compact, tweezers, some sort of unsanitary small scissors, and a scaler for teeth and went at them sitting on the bathroom counter with my face 2 inches from the mirror and somehow managing to use the compact mirror as a dental mirror. It was fun. And I got all 6 out. And I'm proud. My first stitches removal--done on myself, with only two hands and completely improper instruments. The negative of doing it on yourself: even the slightest twinge and your hands start shaking and when you are working backwards in two mirrors near a surgical sight that's not so great. But, the results: no bleeding, no puncture wounds from scissors and best of all--NO stitches!!! I am not sure the doctor will be thrilled later this week when I've done his job but. . . what can I say? I will NOT be attacking the stitches at the graft sight, don't worry. Plus, the stitches there are supposed to dissolve so hopefully no one will have to take them out.
So, if you need stitches removed, I'm your girl. Better yet: wait 3 years and you can pay me to take them out!

Beautiful Music

"Rolling in the Deep" has been my song over the past few months. . .but I can relate to these moments, too. She's my new favorite artist though--she's so fun to watch, you can see her mind working when she's on a stage, and she's oh-so-fabulously British!

P.S. The ads that end up with this video crack me up. . .oh, advertisers!

Fun Adventure Ahead!!

In mid-August, my parents and I (the other members of the fam are unavailable) will be flying to Maine and traveling through Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont for a week. We will be renting bikes and an SUV and doing 6 rails-to-trails bike trails in the various states that are about 20-25 miles each. I am so looking forward to it! I've always wanted to see Maine and at least one of the trails we are doing is along the coast, so it should be gorgeous!! I am hoping to eat my first lobster and go sailing while I'm up there, too. But I'm sure you'll be hearing more about this later and seeing pics, too. . .
If you or your family has any inclination to biking, you should find a rails-to-trails path and make a day of it. The paths are places that have been converted to bike trails from train tracks, so there is very little traffic and, because the railroad tracks could only withstand small grades, there are little to no hills. There are 22 of them in SC alone: Charleston, Greenville, Edgefield, Spartanburg, etc.

You know, I was just thinking. . .

As a maturing human, I am beginning to see the gravity of life and many of the burdens that are yet to come, while as a maturing Christian I am beginning to taste the depths of joy that I never knew existed--joy so strong you just feel like you have to go out and pull a Sound of Music (you know, find some grassy hill and run up it singing with your arms wide open--with no breathy notes, of course).
When I get to Heaven I may remember the sorrowful, heavy moments, but I think those feelings will be overshadowed with such joy that I drew closer to Jesus because of them that I will have nothing to do but LITERALLY pull a Sound of Music and sing to the Father my love, my adoration, and my overwhelming joy!!

"My cup runneth over. . . " 

Jesus I am Resting

Today I was overcome with thoughts of what I did in a situation and what I could have done instead. My behavior definitely affected the rest of my life story. I was overcome with sadness, just a deep longing to go back in time and do things differently. Why did I act like that? Why did I say those things? Why did the person react that way? Could I do anything right now to change the outcome? If I had acted differently would that have changed anything anyway?
I was listening to my Ipod while driving as these thoughts pervaded my mind and "My Father's World" came on and I was struck by how much my life and history and future are in the Father's hands. He has set my path ahead of me, he knows my future and nothing I can do and no way I can act can screw that up. What a blessing! What a comfort! What a joy! The Lord has plans for me, and in all things he will work to draw me closer to him.
Interestingly, one of the next few songs was "Back in June" by Matt Wertz. One line says, "I can't change the ending, And I don't want to change your mind. I've learned lessons in the mending, And I've made it through just fine." And that's true. I can't change the outcome and it was hard for a while, but I've made it through, not only fine, but better. The Lord had this in his plans for me, it's drawn me to him, and I'm resting in his leadership and plan for my life.

Happy 4th!

Happy, happy Independence Day!!
The fireworks are popping outside and I'm inside watching the Tour de France! I hope that each of you have had a brilliant day with many festivities with family and friends! What a blessing our liberty is. I am so grateful for the courageous faith of many of our founding fathers. Though America as a whole has fallen away from the faith, I am so grateful for the freedom to worship openly. Pray for our leaders, especially our president. Pray that the Lord brings our nation to a knowledge and understanding of Himself.

Catching some ZZZZZZZZzzzzzzs

Wednesday is my sleep study, by Thursday morning I should know if I have sleep apnea. I honestly want to hear that I do have sleep apnea. I don't want to go on living my life sleeping 14 hours of it a day away. I love life. I hate that I get tired headaches all the time, that my head feels heavy as lead, and the my legs just feel too heavy to lift going up the stairs. I used to do an hour of cardio a day and lift weights 3 times a week. Night before last, I WALKED on the treadmill for 40 minutes and had to stop because I was so tired--I wasn't out of breath, I was barely sweating, but I just couldn't go on. I'm eating 2 meals a day because I sleep so much that I don't need the normal 3. I forget words that are easy and every day. I wonder if my relationship didn't work out because of this. I remember going through our days together and him listing off a thousand things he did that were productive  and furthered the Kingdom, and there I sat trying to make my nap and studying sound interesting. It is really hard to make napping sound interesting over Skype (haha). I keep reminding myself that that was just not who the Lord had for me and I've come to the point where I don't desire that anymore, but it does frustrate me to think that a condition with a simple fix like a CPAP could have caused me to kill my relationships/make fewer solid relationships in college. I started the application to PA school and wondered how I let my life go like this--I don't have experience hours, I don't have good references, and my gpa is not the greatest. Why did I not bulldog this sooner? Why did I think it was normal to get tested for mono 3 times in a year and a half time span? 

I keep reading about the rates of sleep apnea in cleft palate patients and getting the same answer. You see, there are two reconstruction techniques. The one I had is called the pharyngeal flap procedure where they basically take a flap from the upper pharynx to close the cleft (from what I gather. . . ), and in all the studies there are higher incidences of sleep apnea and "sleep disturbances" postoperatively with this technique. On the other hand, the other technique has a higher incidence of nasally-sounding speech. I can't decide if I'd rather sleep a lot or talk nasally. :) Anyway, that's beside the point. Either way, the reconstructive surgery is done, whether I like it or not. My body physiology is screwed up, whether I like it or not. And, I am going to bulldog some sort of diagnosis for myself, whether the doctors like it or not. 

And on that note: I'm going to bed. 

I've only slept 12 hours today so I'm lacking. :) I kid. But really. . .