jenniferhawke.com

enjoying every second of these last-minute details.

Sunday
- pack for Oklahoma City and book a hotel room
- bathe and brush Maddy (and trim her toe fur)

Monday
- call the clinical rotation coordinator to get a few small details like, um, what time i’m supposed to show up and where
- check with the local clinic for my Hep B antibody results
- buy a trailer hitch
- make a trip or two to the liquor store

Tuesday
- finish any last yardwork (weeding, mowing, etc)
- do laundry

Wednesday
- pick up Julie at the airport at 12pm
- hitch the toilet trailer to the 4Runner and haul it from Regina to the farm
- watch the tent get set-up in the front yard
- make beds and get stuff in order at the dorm rooms

Thursday
- pick up Jillian at the airport at 230pm
- go out with the girls for drinks

Friday
- talk through, walk through and music rehearsal at 4pm
- pick up Simona at the airport at 530pm (hm, that timing doesn’t really work, does it?)
- rehearsal dinner at 730pm
- pack up the 4Runner with all of my worldly belongings (minus flight suitcases)

Saturday
- pick up any girls that want to get ready here at the house
- pick up flowers
- pick up sound system
- pick up dress hoop
- get married at 4pm

Sunday
- double-check for passport and visa request letter
- say goodbye to the mess that my mom has to clean up
- fly to Oklahoma City (via Denver) at 2pm

this is the long-term weather prediction from the Farmer’s Almanac for the Canadian prairies. i looked it up in May and thought “below seasonal temperature and rainfall looks great to me!” my aunt and cousin are also convinced that it never rains on August 1st.

May and June — and even the first half of July — were weird weather months here. i am used to Saskatchewan being dry and scorching during the summer. we* installed an air conditioner on the third floor because heat rises and i figured it would be more comfortable not sleeping in sheets soaked in your own sweat. needless to say, it was running daily while Brandon was here, but i’ve barely turned it on since he left. most mornings it’s been tough to get out of bed because the blankets are warm and the room is freezing.

outside, the garden went in late. we decided to wait until the overnight frost warnings finally abated and that wasn’t until mid-June. corn and peas and carrots are working hard to get caught up with the season (while lettuce and brussel sprouts are going crazy), but at least nothing was lost or had to be re-planted.

finally, the sun has decided to shine its’ sunny face on southern Saskatchewan. the flowers are loving it. i am loving it. and the air conditioner is getting a workout. afternoons are hitting 30° C and overnight dips down to 10° C. i think i called it weather that was both “beautiful and bearable” on Twitter the other week. pretty darn perfect, ifyouaskme.

still, if a classic prairie thunderstorm decides to roll in next weekend, we have a leaky barn to take cover in. for the most part, my mom and i are naively refusing to plan for inclement weather because we want to bury our heads in the sand and pretend that if we don’t think about it, it won’t happen.

i wonder if we can fit 80 people in our living room…

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*actually, the marvelous Tom installed the A/C while we sat around and tried to look helpful.

i’m working on my name dropping.

so, the other day, when i was talking on the phone with Maureen Miller…

yah, you know, Mrs. Ken Miller? as in, the head coach of the Saskatchewan Roughriders? super nice lady. anyway. we’re off to meet her today at the Roughrider practice. i kinda want to check out this hot new quarterback from Texas Tech and maybe get a Dressler jersey signed. then tomorrow, Maureen was kind enough to offer us free tickets in her row: section 7. right up front.

i know i use the word “awesome” a lot lately, but it just seems to fit over and over again.

big thanks to Dann for the introduction to his old friends, the Millers. i don’t think Dann realized how much of a Rider fan i am and how huge this is for me. while down in the Caribbean, we ordered every game last season online from TSN and i introduced Brandon to the slightly different rules of our little Canadian Football League. i am proud that attending at game at Taylor Field (aka: Mosaic Stadium) is one of the most unique and exciting experiences in Canadian sporting events.

here’s hoping Edmonton is ready to take a thorough beating on tomorrow’s gorgeously sunny afternoon.

i’m an annoying bride. not so much a bridezilla diva that needs to have everything exactly her way, no. but a bride who has absolutely nothing of interest going on in her life other than the upcoming party surrounding “I do” and “I do too”.

wonderful marvelous Tiffany arrived last night and i kept trying to steer the conversation away from rings and dresses and flowers and guest lists and all things pink and navy, but failed miserably.

in my defense though, Tiffany is an expert at conversation steering. even in her jet-lagged contact lens bleary eyed state last night as we had drinks and food in a dim lounge, she was overflowing with questions that either made her seem more interested than she really is, or just revealed her to be A Great Friend and was another reminder of why i asked her to be our Mistress of Ceremonies. she patiently listened to all of my stories about how we finally picked rose over blush and what Brandon’s wedding band looks like and whether or not i went with a strapless dress and and and.

in the interest of getting it out of my system (and for those of you that enjoy the small wedding details), here are a few clippings from my photo diary of inspirations thus far.

[note: none of these photos were taken by me. these are my "magazine clippings" over the past 8 months.]

for those of you not interested in wedding planning stuff, i’m off to pick up Brandon this afternoon and will be back talking about the Roughriders and the weather and how i’ve made myself nervous for upcoming hospital rotations by reading “First Aid for the Wards”. i’m only a “bride-to-be” for another 9 days.

aren’t they beautiful?

i have no idea how these amazing ladies are single. although, speaking from personal experience, it can be very tough to keep a guy around when you can’t (or won’t) play the damsel in distress.

which i will probably never understand.

we are physically and emotionally strong, capable, generous, honest, fun and can cook to boot! intimidating, i know. but check the grease on Janice’s knuckles. seriously — what’s not to love??