The contract is signed, the check has been written.  Go ahead and book your room now.

Our room is on the second floor.  According to the people at the inn, this will be the night owl floor.

The cottage rooms are cheaper, but further away.  And they’re not cottages; more like a motel.

And if you want to be next door to someone in particular, let me know.  I can assign rooms.  Oh, the power.

For some reason, James doesn’t feel this cake topper is appropriate for an event at which families will be present.

Wedding planning comes in waves. I can go a week or more and barely think of the wedding at all and then, bam!, the bug hits again.

Sharon and I have been trading a few wedding emails. She’s deciding on a place for hair and make up and getting her block of hotel rooms in order. We’re going to stay definitely one night there, probably two (depending on the plans for the rehersal). We’re in the same state, but it’s still an hour and a half drive, and I’m sure it will be much more peaceful all around if we don’t have to make that drive on her wedding day.

I feel so far behind her (though she is six months ahead of me, so I guess that makes sense). We’re still negotiating our contract. I thought we were done and ready to pay our deposit, but then something else came up and I had to ask for another change. Luckily, it’s still a long way out, but I wonder if Shaffin (who’s planning for us at the Wake Robin) is going to start calling me bridezilla.

Other than that, we have so little decided on. I thought James and I were agreed on the escort cards/favors/table decorations, but after I bought five bud vases, he tells me he never really liked the idea. (I’m not too upset, though, because I only spend $1 on the vases and can definitely find a use for them somewhere). But he’s not into talking about stuff like flowers and favors so early, and I have this inexplicable compulsion to make a decision about something.

I’m planning a trip to Boston in the next couple of weeks to visit friends and check out a dress shop or two. Maybe just two. Don’t want to overdo it (at one point I thought I could hit four in a weekend, but now I’m thinking that’s insane). I got some recommendations for a couple of boutiques in Medford, so I think that’s where I’m headed.

I was looking at tiaras today and though I didn’t fall immediately in love with anything, I think I would like pearls (faux or otherwise) in the tiara. Actually, I really like pearls, so I’m thinking that my jewelry will all be pearl-based.

There. That’s a decision. Sort of.

Man, I’m dying for a bridal magazine about now. When does the fall Martha come out?

James and I got new cell phones today. It all happened very quickly.

I was waiting for pages to be ready at work today and remembered that I had been meaning to call Verizon to try to get out of my contract. I’ve never had good service in this area from them, but I used to be able to occasionally get a call at my house. Enough time to say, “Hey, let me call you back from home.”

But since we moved, nothing. It seemed so silly to keep paying $50 for a phone I only used when we went on road trips. It’s Cingular (now AT&T Wireless) country out here.

So I called and got out of the contract and told James we were going to get cell phones at lunch time.

On the way there, James turned to me and said, “You know, we’re doing everything backwards. We’re combining all our stuff before we get married — bank accounts, cell phone plans.”

“Yeah, but I wouldn’t be doing any of this if I didn’t have this ring on my finger,” I said.

And it’s true. I’ve always been very cautious in relationships when it comes to money. But I trust him so much and already feel like we’re in it all together. I didn’t even think twice about doing a family share plan with him.

So, my number is still the same, but Verizon customers can no longer call me for free. If you’d like James’s number (and who wouldn’t?), shoot me an email.

James and I went on a big shopping trip this weekend. We realized that, because of how the calendar falls, we get three paychecks in August (instead of our normal two a month). So we finally decided to bite the bullet and buy the stuff we’ve been putting off.

James got a bunch of clothes, which he has really needed for a while now. I got bunny treats (Stanlee is getting really spoiled as an only bunny), a new sports bra (now that I’m trying to do some running, my cheap-o, uniboob sports bras aren’t up to the job), a pair of pants, two tank tops that were on sale and a pair of ballet flats. I also bought two paperback novels for me and a Linux magazine for James.

Oh, yes, one more thing. Walkie-talkies.

We’d been kidding about them pretty much since we moved. The new house is so big that we often find ourselves yelling to each other. James went through a whole long list of things we can use them for, and since they weren’t expensive and seemed like fun, I agreed.

Mostly we use them to transmit clever insults (“So’s your mom!”) from one end of the house to the other. This morning, as I was leaving for the pool, I radioed inside to tell him that we forgot to bring in the grill utensils last night (not that it did any good; they were still outside when I got home).

I took the radio in the car to test the range. Loud and clear through the turn onto 112, but quickly losing contact after that; didn’t even make it to the first stop sign.

So far, they are a lot of fun. I’m just dreading the day when “While you’re down there, can you get me a beer, a plate of nachos and bean dip?” comes over the air.

The last time my friend Kate and her boyfriend Dave came to visit, she noticed a camp ground off Route 7 in Sharon. She asked if we could camp there sometime this summer.

Sure, whatever. It’s only 20 minutes from home, but camping is fun.

Housatonic Meadows is a beautiful site. Small, but that’s part of its charm. We had a great site at the end of a cul-de-saq, very wooded, private enough. A bit of a slope, which meant we kinda slid downhill all night, but that wasn’t too much of a problem.

We all brought a ton of food and spent a lot of time cooking and eating. And just generally hanging out, enjoying each other’s company by the fire.

On Sunday we trudged up river (in the river) until we found a spot deep enough to swim. The temperature was perfect, the current was strong and the river was peaceful. No better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

Again it hit James and me how much we enjoy getting out and doing things with people (Kate and Dave in particular). It sounds funny to say it that way, but we often get caught up in work and freelance projects and just being tired. This was the perfect antidote to a crazy week of heart monitors and losing pets.

On the drive back home, I kept marveling at the beauty of the Northwest Corner.

“I can’t believe we live here,” I said, not for the first time.

At least Morgan went quickly. She really did seem okay yesterday. Interested in food, enthusiastic in general. So I guess it was good that it was quick.

I wanted to post a photo, but I can’t find any since the hard drive crash. James hasn’t found one, yet.

And he’s been wonderful. He had to turn in his heart moniter today, but he hasn’t expressed any concern except about me and how I’m dealing.

I’m watching comfort movies and eating comfort food.

I’m so glad to have someone who understands.

I’ll miss you, Morgan. I love you.

Morgan, my rabbit, died this morning.

I came down to give her morning treats, and she didn’t come out from her little house. She didn’t even move when I pulled the house off her. And when I took her out of the cage, she just snuggled deeper into my arm, instead of trying to get away from me like she normally does.

Then I noticed all the blood in her cage. She’d been bleeding rectally all night.

I called the vet right away and packed her up and took her off. As I handed her over to the tech, I had a feeling that I wouldn’t see her again, that I should take a minute to say goodbye to her. But I didn’t want to keep her from medical care and I tried not to be so morbid.

An hour later, the vet called to say that she had died just as the exam began.

I made it through the necessary parts of work, and people were supportive, which I really appreciate. I went to the vet to pick up the carrier and then home to clean out the cage. I ended up moving Stanlee into Morgan’s cage because it’s bigger and easier to clean. I put Stanlee’s old cage in the basement. I just couldn’t stand to look at the empty cage.

I feel guilty for not playing with Morgan more. I think Stanlee is going to get sick of me soon, with all the attention I’m giving her. I’m worried that she might be lonely, even though all they ever did was fight.

I miss her. She was a good bunny.

The other day James and I came home to a package on our doorstep. We hadn’t ordered anything, so we were mystified.

But it had my mother’s handwriting on the label.

We open it and there’s a package for each of us, wrapped in tissue paper with our names written on it. A note said that Mom thought they were fun and hoped we enjoyed them.

We rip them open and find two books: For him, “Well Groomed,” by Peter Scott; for me, “Zen Bride,” by Nora Cabrera.

Mine is a kit that includes lavendar bath salts, candle (which James is burning sorta maniacally as I type) and room spray with a sleep mask (and a book). I squealed when I saw the sleep mask. I’ve been looking for one for the last few weeks. James likes to read in bed, but either stays up reading until 2 a.m. or falls asleep immediately without turning the light off. I don’t sleep well with the light on, so I thought a mask might help.

James is delighted with his book and immediately starts reading me the chapter titles: “How Can a Magazine Cost $12.95 and Not Have Pictures of Naked People in It?” and “Why Are You and Your Mom Acting Like Rival Street Gangs?” The subtitle of the book is “A Wedding Planner for What’s-His-Name (And His Bride).”

He hasn’t really dived into it yet (he says he wants to finish the book he’s reading first — nevermind that he routinely has about 12 books he’s in the middle of), but he sneaks a look between the covers now and then, laughs, and says, “I can’t wait to read this book.”

I jinxed it. After a solid week of feeling dizzy and light-headed, James finally agreed to see the doctor yesterday.

She had no clue what is wrong with him. Good blood pressure, no fever, heart rate a little high. The next step is more tests, starting with the heart. James said they want to rule out the life-threatening causes first. He has to get a monitor from the hospital and wear it for 24 hours and have an eccocardio done.

Probably, his heart is fine. But the dizziness is concerning.

He mostly tries to ignore it, but I can tell he’s worried. And, well, you know me. But I’m trying not to dwell on it too much, because he feeds off of my worry and gets upset, then I get more upset and its a vicious circle.

Hopefully he’ll be able to get the tests taken care of on Monday and we’ll be able to move on to the next round. Or maybe he’ll just get better without us having to do anything.

Here’s hoping.