A couple of days

Something old: my grandmother's necklace

something new: my dress

something borrowed: Andrea's pearl bracelet

something blue: my engagement ring

Our wedding was fantastic! The ceremony was very short, but still very sweet, and fun to have in a courtroom! The weather was also great, warm, not too warm, but then again, every thing is cooler by the lake. We had a small reception at Lake Michigan, at the dunes! There was an area that had picnic tables and bathrooms (well, they were more like latrines). Our photographers seemed to be having so much fun, as were we as we were all dressed up, and enjoying our first few hours as a married couples (and then the weeks following, we are definitely still enjoying it!). Andrea made an incredible meal. I very much wish she would cater our blessing for next year.

After the wedding, we traveled up the Lake Michigan side of Michigan, never seeing the lake until Traverse City! Our honeymoon was perfect, spent at quiet lake house on Lake Marion, near Charlevoix. We relaxed lots, ate lots, laughed lots. We had fireworks our first night there and watched the sunset on our last night there. Our hosts were incredibly giving, made us feel at home (but better, since we had no responsibility while we were there).

We drove back home through Michigan's upper peninsula, and we saw lots of Lake Michigan then. We look forward to going back through there, being able to spend lots more time up there.

Now we are in Chicago, getting adjusted, finding our grocery stores, pharmacies, filling out paperwork and enjoying summer in the city.

July 24th-the day I get married:

This morning was spent eating cereal, petting adorable dogs and chatting with my soon to be husband, maid of honor and her husband. We have discussed how it feels very un-wedding-like. The four of us plan to spend some time at the fair before getting married at 3:15pm this afternoon. It looks like good weather, at least not much if any preciptation.

So yeah, soon I will be Mrs. Lorrine Shelmerdine. sounds good.

Fine, fine, here you go

Yes, yes, as I have been bullied into it, I will write another blog entry. Umm, been busy? Nothing's going on? Both of those are completely untrue!

I haven't been busy, since my last blog post, which was apparently in April, I was sometimes busy, May was busy, finals and then visiting Richard, but this month has been all right.

Visiting Richard: fantastic! We did lots, like play a tournament, hang out with his family, met his mother and siblings, did lots of walking, did lots of running (half-marathon!). But then we had to say goodbye, and that was absolutely no fun. Yes, I did know that I would be with him again soon, but we hadn't heard from the Embassy about the interview, I was starting to get worried. But at least neither of us got sick this trip, which was a huge plus!

A few days after I came back to the states, Richard received a letter from the Embassy inviting him for an interview on June 8th! I believe that was 11 days later. We were all very nervous, but it turned out that we had in fact done everything correctly, we have a legitimate relationship, hooray! And he was granted his visa. Well, at least told that yes, he could come over to America and marry his dream girl. The visa arrived via courier a few days later to his flat in Plymouth. He now has a very colorful visa sticker in his passport. All the cool kids have those (some even have two!).

Then a few days after that, we purchased his one way ticket. Goodness, those things are expensive If you can help it don't:

1. purchase a one-way ticket
2. purchase a ticket in June if you are flying in July (and probably August)
3. ever stop being a student! You get great discounts

But we got it, and that is what matters. Richard will be arriving on July 14th!

But wait, there's more! We still have to find an apartment, am currently on the look out for that. This is not really all that fun, but we will find a place, and it will be awesome, and our place (well, ours and Colleen's, our future roomie).

Right, so he lands on the 14th, we then get to play one of the greatest tournaments ever (yes, I mean ever, and I have played some kick-butt tournies). On the shores of Lake Michigan, we will partaking in Sandblast on the 18th and 19th of July.

The following Friday, we intend to get married! hooray!

So yeah, lots going on. Should blog more though, it is fun. But I am keeping myself busy by watching the Bachelorette. I know, it is a terrible show, but I just can't stop watching, so much drama!

Post St. Patty's day weekend

Yes, I am aware that I am a little behind, but that is fine. My last entry was about my pre-saint Patty's day weekend (had nothing to do with St. Patrick's day, mind you), this was a very different weekend. 

Well, it starts on Friday: Maria had invited me out for a five mile run. I thought, sure, why not? Yes, I was a bit apprehensive, but didn't want to show it. Well, we ran five miles, not in a fast time, but a moderate time, and it was good, it was really good. I can run five miles, I can run five miles! Yes! It was fantastic to achieve that. 

After the run, I had a great shower, then got my stuff together and caught the train into the city. Richard and I were actually able to chat while I was on the train. Normally I can't hear him very well when he calls the cell phone, it is really strange. But it was great. Got into town, sun was shining, and went over to Joe's. We chatted about this and that, laughed, it was good. Katy came back in. She was visiting and came on Monday to Crystal Lake. She then went into the city on Tuesday (a beautiful day). I couldn't join her until Friday. She was at a conference, and on the Friday night, the Goethe Institute had the show Faust in a Box. I have never seen Faust, but it was very fun. I got to use some of my German and also meet other German speaking people. Including a Valpo grad who started the Tuebingen program and has also spent a year in Guestrow, which is on the way to Berlin from Greifswald! There was also delicious food to be eaten. Although I craved some Apfelschorle. Hmm, must remember to make some. 

Saturday was spent largely lounging for me. Katy was off earlier in the morning, so Joe and I debated with each other for a few hours. It was good to hear his point of view on matters, it doesn't really change mine, but I like to listen to different perspectives. We both then got ready for Spring League! Katy came in, we packed her car, and went off to play ultimate. Joe beat us to the fields riding his bike, we were in a car (we also got a bit lost). It was a glorious day. I met my team, they seem like a good bunch, we then played two games, lost the first, won the second. My shoulder was good, and I even did a few lay-out attempts. My knees were muddied up for proof. 

The drive home went smoothly. My shower afterwards was fantastic! I then took Katy to Portillo's. I seem to forget that even though it is a chain, it is only a chain in the Chicago-area. The food was delicious, at least I thought so, but Katy ordred a much too big burger, oh well. We then headed to the movies and saw He's Just not that Into You. It makes me very, very glad that Richard is that into me. There were quite a few cringe-worthy moments, but I could also see myself in that character. 

The next morning was more sun! Katy packed her car and headed back to St. Louis and I headed to Naperville to watch some ultimate. My friend, Mark, was in the for the tournament. It was fantastic to see him and watch him play some. I also was able to watch the Valpo Women's team. When I got there, they had just started a game against UIC, great. I cheered loudly for Valpo, and after the game, introduced myself to the UIC team, because I am hoping to play for them, it was a bit strange, but they were very receptive. 

I was able to quickly chat with Richard, but then we had guests over to celebrate my dad's birthday. Yeah, it was a great, great weekend. Not enough Richard (or Wayne and April) but I can't get everything. 

Pre-Saint Patty's Day weekend

I want to state first that in no way am I aggravated at the parties involved in this story. This is just a very strange bit of instances that happened at one time. 

Well, Friday went smoothly. We had a work outing to go lazer tagging, which was fantastic. We played three games of 20 minutes (truthfully, 2 would have been enough, but it was still fun). The team I was on lost all three games, but still very fun to shoot "lazers" at your co-workers, and to be trash talked about it as well. Afterwards, we headed to Buffalo Wild Wings and had a delicious "dinner." Courtney and I were observing no meat Fridays, which is quite the challenge at BWW's, but we were able to pull it off. The wings on the table were quite the temptation, but we stuck to our nachos and potato wedges. 

Saturday was where things got a bit sticky. Woke up, chatted with Richard, then with Heather. We had our plans set, she was going to pick me up at the train station, we were going to drive to Lincoln Park, meet up with Kim and Co for her birthday/St. Patty's day celebration. I then worked on her present (can't say what it is because she hasn't gotten it yet). Showered, and got all pretty looking. I am starting to practice doing some sort of up-do for the wedding, so I tried that out, and left for the train. I decided to drive the Nissan to the station, and leave it there. That way, my parents wouldn't have to pick me up on Sunday.

While on the train, Heather called. She had just woken up from her nap (because she had just gotten back from New York). She would not be ready to pick me up when I got in. Well, I will just call Joe and see if I can hang out with him for about an hour. He was home and that went smoothly. Got into the station, took the green line down, he met me at the El stop. Joe and I chatted for a while, I got some dinner, had a beer, and laughed lots. We looked at his pictures from his trip to Germany (none of the people I know! Actually, none of people at all).

At Joe's, I got another call, this one from Kim. She was calling to let me know that they were getting really tired, and would be heading home soon, so don't bother coming into the city. Umm, well, I am already here. Silence. She said I could come meet her, but I wasn't near Lincoln Park. It really wasn't a big deal, I would figure something out. She had been out since 10:00am, and I would be exhausted as well. Ten minutes later, Heather called, and then asked what we should do. Because of her nap, she was now quite awake. I said I would love to see her. I could go out to Tinely Park, and meet up. But the next train was leaving the station in 30 minutes, and I would not be able to make it there in time. And the train after that was in 2 hours. Awesome. So she came and picked me up (and is a saint for that). 

Heather arrived at Joe's (after a bit, and I got a little worried. I didn't want to call because she would in Chicago, and driving and cell phones don't mix in the city). I hopped in the car, said goodbye to Joe, and we were off. We missed the poorly marked exit for the interstate, got yelled at by another car, and got honked at. Really, Heather, you are awesome, thank you for coming to get me and putting up with all of that! But we turned around, didn't let the shouts freak us out (too much), and you always get honked at in the city. An hour later, we decided to go to Apple Bee's, because the local bars would be loud and really crowded. It was a really good evening, and we chatted about all kinds of things. 

Sunday, we got up, heather made some breakfast, and drove me to the station. I had decided to take the 10:48 train out of Tinley so I could catch the 12:30 train out of Chicago to get back home. I had about 40 minutes between trains in the city, and it only took 15 minutes to walk from one station to the next. Well, when we drove up to the station, there were lots of young adults wearing green, very excited and on their way to being intoxicated. The South Side Irish parade was today. Heather had hoped that all these people would be on the train before, but no such luck. They kept coming and coming and coming. Metra (the train company) had even booked two extra trains to take all of these people to parade. Heather and I were waiting at the end of the platform. The first train arrived, and it was already fairly full, and there was no way to get onto that train. I decided to take the next, which would arrive ten minutes later. We then went to the other side of the platform, which was pretty empty of green clothed persons. The next train was a little late, but not as much of a rush on this end to get in, and I even got a seat all to myself! But the train had to wait for the middle cars to get loaded. This happened at most stops, people were thrown off the train, there were fights (none the car I was located). It is supposed to take an hour to get into the city, it took an hour and a half, and that was with the train going express over the last five stops. It arrived in the city at 12:30. 

This meant a 2 hour wait for my train to get me home to Crystal Lake. It was a beautiful day, so I walked a bit, attempted to talk to Richard, but we had a bad connection, got a sandwich, and it was time to go. This ride had no complications or delays, and I finally got into Crystal Lake. I walked over to the car, crawled through the passenger side (because the driver side handle broke off during the cold winter) and put my key in the ignition. But nothing happened when I turned it. Looked down, and saw I had left the lights on. Great. 

interesting, but then sad

My day has consisted of: 

Speaking to Richard at 2am (becasue he is at a tournament, and wanted to catch him for a bit), he is in England. 

Then waking up to an email from my friend Choi (currently in Singapore).

Then writing to my friend Ali on Skype (in Germany)

And speaking with my friend Jon (friend from Valpo who is currently in Cairo). 

Yeah, it is pretty great thinking that I have friends all over, but then the other side of it is that they all really are so far away, and that isn't much fun at all. 

Even though I never cared for the articles, I really do love the language

It feels good to read German and really understand it. Granted, it is second year German and I should hope I understand it. I get nervous that I have lost it all. I am currently tutoring a sophomore in high school German, he isn't bad at it, just needs to gain confidence, and put the effort in. We went through some readings and questions today, it was really fun to read German out loud, in my somewhat correct accent, ask questions, understand, all of that. This has inspired me to read one of my German books, let's see how that goes, but I need to keep working at it, put the effort in. 

When I opened up to the first page, a picture fell out. I have no idea when this picture was put in the book and have no idea why it was there. But the other person in the picture used to infuriate me. And now, I just looked at, thought, how odd for this to be here, and thought back to the time it was taken. It feels so long ago, and hey, if I saw this person again, I wouldn't be angry or upset. But it also made me think of Richard, and how amazing he is. I hope this person is doing well too. 

Does the library carry children's books in German? Could I get them in interlibrary loan? Need to look into this.