Well, I know I've been MIA but I just left Cuba today. Kinda sad :(  No more beach, family, palm trees and doggies.  BUT focusing on the positive, I get to see FI tomorrow for the first time in over 2 months :)  So regular updates will be starting up again, the ball has been rolling along :)  Stay tuned!

Ok, so while I'm not exactly stranded a la Gilligan's Island...(and hey, they didn't have it all that bad either!) my vacation in the caribbean is being unexpectedly extended.  I say vacation, but this is where I grew up, so call it what you will. 

Are you a Ginger, or a Mary Ann? I think I'm a little of both!

 Anyway, there are many good and bad points about this.  Missing my BFF's  baby's first birthday?  Awful :(   So now I won't be leaving here until a few weeks, when I'll be meeting FI in Florida tagging along like a 50's housewife (to be) for his work trip. 

But let's look at this from a wedding perspective, shall we?

Good things about being here longer than expected:

-Get to work on my tan, and "hot bod" at the gym so I'll look more slammin' when I finally see FI again for the first time in OVER 2 MONTHS!

-Get to collect more specimens for my DIY centerpieces, and other possible decor.  (Intrigued?  You want a sneak-peek you say?  Ok!)

Hmm, bags full of....?

What the shell?!

Where was I?  Oh yes...

-Not dealing with winter weather, major plus. 

And now the bad:

-Have to cancel appointment, and push back dress shopping.  Wah!  :(

-Churches (or somewhere?) to have the ceremony still have to be picked out and looked at, so that's gonna have to wait.

-There are NO crafty supplies available here!  I have spray paint, aaaannnd....that's it.  Can a girl get some glitter??!?

-It's gonna be time to order STDs soon, should I have them sent here?  Will they get here in time before I leave so I can inspect and send out?

Aaah...well.  I realize my "problems" are minute compared to what's going on 90-ish miles away, and in the rest of the world.  So I just try to remember that everything will get done when it gets done.  Make do with what I have now, and most importantly in 2 and a half weeks, I'll be back in HIS arms at a fancy-shmancy resort, just in time for Valentine's day!   

Pointing out how far apart I am from FI.  Not even in the same time zone...sucks!  (Then why am I smiling like an idiot?)

Is your location in any way putting a strain on your wedding planning?  (And are you a Ginger or a Mary Ann??!)

There was a girl named B and a boy named Swiss.  It was fall of 1998-B's first semester ever of college, what an exciting time in her life!  She was 18 and away from home for the first time, in a new town and state, in a whole other country from Ma and Pa B.  She was making friends, and joined a sorority and really enjoying this college thing!  Swiss was going to the same school, a few years older (but maybe not wiser, j/k!)  One night, Swiss stopped by a friends house and first laid eyes on B.  B does not really remember this night too well.  Not for the reasons you would normally think a college freshman would not remember a night.  B was a little different from many other college girls, and Swiss could see that.  B was shy and unsure of herself, and did not really make eye contact with the boy named Swiss or talk to him much.  But Swiss took note of her, even memorizing what she was wearing, and swore to himself, that one day, he would date her. 

A few years later in the 2'nd semester of her sophomore year, B needed a date for a sorority dinner function.  Since she was still pretty shy at this point, and didn't feel comfortable talking to many guys, (let alone asking them out!) so she allowed herself to get set up.  She went to get ready at her sister S's house, who was also going with a boy from the same fraternity that B's date was from.  People kept telling B, "Oh you know Swiss, I know you've met him before..."  But B just couldn't remember this boy that everyone seemed to know, and swore she knew as well.  She was a little bit scared, but finally B and S's dates were there to pick them up.  B was nervous, but when her date came in, she (what she thought as) boldly marched up to him, extended her hand, and said, "Hi, I'm B!"

".....I know."  Said the boy named Swiss. 

"Oh."  said B. 

Swiss seemed a little put-off when he explained to her that they had, in fact, met numerous times before...

Well, this night is starting off real great...B thought to herself.  But she decided to try and enjoy the night, and off the 4 of them went.

(A photo exists from this evening, but alas I am trapped in a castle...er, on an island...and so I'll add said picture as soon as I return to the states!  For now, I'll leave you with this...)

A photo of our young heroine B, around the time this story unfolds.  Most likely NOT how she was looking the night Swiss first laid eyes on her...or else our story may never have taken place.

To be continued.....