I’m sure everyone who’s on Facebook has seen this game already, but I saw it on a blog and thought I’d try it:

Instructions: Go to Google.com and do a search. Type in your first name and the word “needs” after it. Then copy and paste the top ten things Google says you “need”.

The autofill thingie doesn’t seem to to come up with anything I need in Google.  So I decided to try it in Yahoo instead with better results.  Here they are.

1. Danielle needs baby (ACK!  no no no nonoonononno!  not yet anyway)
2. Danielle needs struggle (sometimes I do)
3. Danielle needs a job (not unless Yahoo knows something I don’t)
4. Danielle needs coach (what kind? the handbag?  a sports one?  a life one?)
5. Danielle needs rack (well…  not really, but my hunny needs a tie rack)
6. Danielle needs surgeries (lobotomy?)
7. Danielle needs a life (maybe a more adventerous life)
8. Danielle needs a (strangely, nothing after that “a”)
9. Danielle needs to (same thing here)
10. (no yahoo entry for number 10)

I turned in my last paper for this semester. Yay!

The semester was tough for me, and not because of wedding planning and library opening either!

I’m one of those weird people who has to be challenged in school to maintain my attention span. If a class is too easy I stop trying, do the bare minimum, and then don’t get the grades I know I could have gotten. That was the problem with Libr-286, Interpersonal Skills for Librarians. I loved that the professor posted all of the assignments ahead of time, and said that we could do the work at our own pace, as long as they’re in by the deadline. He seemed to be an easy grader too, which helped. But then I started slacking off… neglecting the bulletin board posts, the article reviews… *sigh*

The other class, Libr-232, Issues in Public Libraries was challenging for a different reason. The professor went MIA a few weeks into the semester with no explanation, changed due dates without telling us, and we only got the grades back for the first paper a couple weeks ago… after we turned in the next two papers. The content was interesting, but it’s hard to pay attention and want to do the work if the teacher isn’t there.

Oh well. It’s the end of a semester, and I only have one more to go. E-portfolio (and graduation!) here I come!

Why? Why is it so hard to write these last two papers? Both have to be 5 pages long. Not bad, but it’s soooooo hard!

So, when you get married you’re supposed to register at stores for gifts.  The thing is that my hunny and I have been together for a long time.  We’ve also lived together for a few years.  We have everything we need for our home.  So what do I register for?

I’ve heard a few different options…  Register for upgrades and replacements.  Register for honeymoon stuff.  Don’t register at all.

I’m not sure what to do.  I have to register – the future inlaws demand it.  But then, registering for honeymoon stuff seems a bit tacky, and registering for things we really don’t need or want seems wrong.  It’s like saying “I know you can’t afford to have this wonderful vacation, but could you pay for mine?”  A lot of my friends are unemployed.  Those that have jobs tend to be living from paycheck to paycheck.  I’d feel bad if they felt excluded because of it.  But then I have some friends that are really pushing for the honeymoon registry (it would be DisneyWorld).  And what the heck would I do with another set of dishes, pots/pans, towels…? 

My hunny says that if we have to register, then we should register for traditional gifts.  I might go for both, but it feels weird.  If people really want to contribute to the honeymoon, they can buy gift cards.  OK, thanks for listening.  I think I’ll just register for traditional stuff.  It feels better to me than the other two options.

Our Thanksgiving celebrations are usually the same every year…  Dinner at his grandma’s house, and then dinner at my mom’s house.  I was a bit worried about this year because I wasn’t sure who would be cooking at my mom’s.  Last year we ended up going out to eat because Mom was in the hospital.  And the year before I made turkey breasts because prepping a turkey for roasting is disgusting.  This year my brother had the day off so he did the cooking at mom’s. 

So, our day started out with breakfast at Mimi’s.  Then it was off to K-Mart for some Christmas shopping – we got the kids out of the way.  We headed home and started to put up the Christmas tree.  We knew we’d have a bit of time before we had to be to grandma’s for dinner.

Our plan was to put up the tree only, and leave a box of ornaments nearby.  As we’d pass the tree we would add an ornament.  That was the plan…  but we started to decorate it like normal.  Unfortunately we discovered that the ornament hooks were missing.  A trip to Rite Aid was in order, then back to decorating.  Now the tree is up and decorated, the lighted garland is up and decorated, the wreaths are up, and the window thingie that I hate is sorta covered with ribbon and beads.  There are still more garlands, lights, table cloths, breakable thingies, and themed blankets to put out. 

Dinner at Grandma’s was good.  I hadn’t seen most of the people there for at least the past year.  They were amazed at the weight loss.  The girls all asked about the wedding and added that they would be upset if they weren’t invited.  *sigh* add another 10 people to the list…  Food was good, and I held a baby.  My hunny’s jealous of all the babies running around.  I think his clock is starting to tick.  Mine goes and stops, like a clock that’s running low on batteries.

Dinner at Mom’s was good.  Completely different experience from Grandma’s.  At Mom’s everyone sits around the table, passes the food, says Grace and then eats.  Grandma’s is more like a buffet.  My brother’s a chef so the food was all yummy and homemade.  I doubt any of it was healthy, but oh well.

We came home to do some more decorating and play rock band.  The decorating tired me out, so no rock band tonight.  Maybe next weekend.

This cold has been slowly coming on over the past two weeks.  I hate those kinds.  You just feel tired and not quite right for a long time.  You tire out easily.  You get achy.  Mornings are difficult.  Late afternoons are difficult.   But then when it’s time to go to bed you can’t sleep.  Ugh.  You get dizzy at work just as you start to feel tired.  You get hot, then cold, then hot, then cold… 

Saturday I couldn’t take it any more and went home sick.  Slept for 3 hours.  Then continued with the tired/dizzy/achy thing and the hot/cold thing.

Today I called in because it feels like I’m trying to breathe through water, and my throat hurts a little.  Still with the tired/dizzy, but no achy… only cold.  The steamy shower actually hurt to breathe in.  No fever though.

This sucks.  And it’s not progressing fast enough for me to get over in a hurry.  If I’m still feeling icky tomorrow, I’m gonna call the doctor.  2 weeks with no real change isn’t right.

My hunny’s mom makes the most awesome meatballs using her Swedish grandmother’s recipe.  It’s one of those recipes that don’t have true measurements.  One of the directions says “Add ginger powder til you can smell it” – no joke.  I attempted to make them on Monday.  Too much ginger, not enough onion, garlic and parsley, but still good.  I made them today with better results.  My hunny came home to a meal of meatballs, mashed potatoes, and wine.  Yum.

I also went shopping today.  All of my winter coats are huge.  It’s a sad thing since I only got to wear one of them for one winter.  I found one at JCPenney’s on sale, plus I got another $15 off.  Knee length, black, fitted wool with a cashmere blend.  I was super happy… and it was a size small!  I can’t get over that.  It totally cracks me up. 

I tried to find wedding shoes to no avail.  Apparently white shoes are really hard to find in the winter.  So are nude bustiers.  Oh well.  It gives me an excuse to continue my quest, right?

I’m taking care of my mom today so that my sister can hang out with her family at Gilroy Gardens for her birthday.  I haven’t gotten anything useful done – except for laundry – because every time I pull out homework mom starts talking to me or wanting help with something.  I’m not complaining, though.  Mom’s been very well behaved so far today.  It’s also giving me an excuse to look at wedding stuff.

So, we’ve booked the site (includes ceremony, reception, food, beverage, DJ, officiant), bought the dress, and booked the baker.  The rest…  well… 

Photographers are expensive.  At least the ones I like.  Gotta find one whose style I like but with a price I can afford.

Flowers seem to be a bit expensive too.  Why spend all that money on something that’s going to die in a few days?  I want bouquets that look like something I could pick out of my garden (if I had one).  Nothing too formal looking.  Simple boutonnieres and corsages.  Nothing special.  Loose petals for the flower girls in a basic basket. 

Candy centerpieces.  I stole an idea from Disney’s website.  The candy will double as wedding favors, which justifies the additional cost.

My sister and I bought the paper to make our own invites.  Still need to figure out the wording, print and assemble.

Bridal party clothes – I told the girls their dresses need to be the same color and same length.  Other than that it’s up to them.  So far it’s been like pulling teeth…  My hunny still needs to pick his guys, but they’ll wear whatever I tell them to (it’s nice to be queen).

Gotta take my mama and my hunny’s mama shopping too.

Gotta find a ring for my hunny.

We’re still narrowing down the wedding cake style.  My sister is fixing a computer for a friend who is a baker.  The baker will be providing my cake for free!  She makes yummy cakes, so I’m looking forward to it.

OK, I think that’s it…  just a mental list of the things that still need to be done.

Yesterday I attempted to pick up my wedding dress.  The girl at the counter was gushing over how pretty it was in white (as opposed to ivory).  I smiled and said that my niece picked out the color “Because princesses wear white.”  The girl laughed, looked at the tag, looked at me and said “Are you sure you’re a 12?”

I was a bit offended.  I’d worked hard to lose weight, and I’m still losing thankyouverymuch. I explained that I’d ordered the 12 because the girl who helped me before advised me to do so.  I knew the top would be big, but my hips are quite a bit bigger than my bust.  She said “I really think you should try it on again.”  So I did.

“That dress is huge on you!!!  Why did you order such a big dress?  It’s going to cost you a ton of money to take it in so much – like over $200 for the top alone, plus the bustling.”  Ummm…  the previous girl told me it was the right size to order.  I don’t know anything about wedding dresses.

“Didn’t they offer you another size to try on?”  I asked…  but they said that the 12 was the only size they had in the samples.  I was told it’s better to order too big and then take it in, instead of the other way around.

“WHAT?!?  OK, wait a minute”  She came back with an 8 and a 10. “Try these on.”

The 8 fit nearly perfectly.  Still a little big in the bust – maybe a half an inch or so.  Definitely doable.  “You went from a 12 to an 8.  I’m really sorry.  They should have offered for you to try on something similar in a smaller size just to make sure it fits right. We’ll exchange this for you free.  If you were to lose any more weight, there would have been no way to take the 12 in enough and still have it look right.”

Wow.  From a 12 to an 8.

So now my new smaller dress will be in sometime in February.  Still plenty of time to alter it as needed.

My sister and I were out shopping for invites today.  My neice called and asked to speak with me.  She’s 5 years old.  She said “It’s mommy’s birthday tomorrow.”  I said that I knew.  “She needs a present.  Did you get her one?”

Too funny.  My sister thanked her for reminding me about the upcoming date.  I took my sis out for icecream, and agreed to watch mom on Sunday so she could do birthday stuff with the rest of the family.