A four-day work week! Normally this would be a cause for rejoicing, but since I still have just as much work to do as I would in a five-day week, I’m a little nervous. I did end up taking yesterday off because Matt was home and I wanted to spend time with him, so from now until 5 pm on Friday, I’m hitting the ground running. HARD. Because guess what happens on Saturday? Phil & Megan get MARRIED! And then on Sunday, Matt & I are heading down to the Outer Banks for a week of relaxation, sun and sand. I’m so excited!I still haven’t decided what I’ll be blogging next week, but it’ll be light.

As always, things that happened/lessons learned from the past week:

• Gary & Clarisse were MARRIED this past weekend!! I’ve looked forward to their wedding day for almost a year now and September 1st did not disappoint. I’ll be sharing their wedding on Thursday, so you won’t have to wait long to see it all!
• A good fraction of the wedding guests on Saturday were Portuguese-speaking Brazilians. This resulted in lots of made up sign language, laughs at miscommunications, and Abby being embarrassed that I hadn’t bothered to learn basic Portuguese prior to Saturday. Note to self: Rosetta Stone? Think about it.
• We finally got a regular coffee maker! We have a mini Keurig, and while it’s great, I think I really prefer a regular old coffee maker. It’s more classic, and y’all know I secretly yearn to be like June Cleaver.
• The problem with a regular coffee maker as opposed to a Keurig, however, is that you have to figure out the secret formula of coffee grounds to water, a secret I’ve yet to discover. So far, I’ve had coffee so watered down you’d think it was the leftover wash from someone painting with watercolors, and coffee so strong it made my hair stand on end. We’re getting closer, though!
• Also, the person who decided that coffee grounds should smell better than they taste should be sued. Am I the only one who’s disappointed by this?
• Well, this one isn’t funny or entertaining- I lost my engagement ring yesterday. I was taking off my rings to knead some dough when they flew off unexpectedly and scattered around the kitchen. I found my wedding band behind the microwave, but my engagement ring slipped between the oven and the cabinet unit. After attempting to slide the ring out from under the oven, it was somehow flung across the floor to the right so that it scooted underneath the cabinet unit, and we can’t find it. Matt sat there for over an hour trying everything to find it- a wooden dowel road with tape on the end, a coat hanger, even one of those scalloped plastic things you use to clean out a drain. Our last hope is to ask the leasing office to have maintenance come and move the unit so we can try and find it, but my hopes aren’t high because the unit is sealed to the wall, meaning it’d require more work than simply moving a piece of kitchen furniture. We’re also considering cutting out the bottom off the cabinet from the inside to get down to the floor level. I’ve cried a good bit over it, but I’m not as distraught as I thought I would be. If I had to lose one of the two most precious pieces of jewelry I own, I’m just glad it wasn’t my wedding band. So… if you’re the praying type, I’d love it if you’d say one for me!

And because this post wouldn’t be complete without a photo, here’s a peek at Clarisse’s fabulous taste in footwear :).