Entry from Sept 3, 2006

Sat Aug 19th- Fri Aug 25th

Ok, so we didnt get as far as we'd like on Saturday night. We ended up in a Motel 6 in Texarkana. Normally I can travel and sleep anywhere. I used to find Motel 6 quite comfy. Well I was reminded on how spoiled I had gotten sleeping in my own bed. You see, MY bed has a pillowtop mattress....Motel 6 doesnt have this luxury. Oh well. Sunday we woke up and got ourselves going. Im not sure where we ate out that morning, all I know is my engagement ring stopped fitting that morning due to bloating. We drove all the way into Tazewell. Monday we drove into Sevierville to run some errands. First stop was to the courthouse to pick up our marriage license. WHOOOHOOO! So glad to get that outta the way! Our next stop was to WalMart to place the food and cake orders. The cake was white with an ivory buttercream icing on it. I went very simple with it (you can view all the pix at : http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/ladystyx1969/my_photos * ) and had it decorated with ivory on ivory polkadots and ribbons. For the food we went with luncheon meats, a veggie tray, condiments and chicken fingers. After WalMart we took a drive up to the cabin just so we could check the directions. OMG the roads. I KNEW at that point my mom was gonna freak out (she hates narrow, winding, steep roads and this was all of the above). I kept telling Babe..."they're all gonna kill me...I just know it!". We got lost getting to the cabin and never saw it that night....thanks to MapQuest. Sheeeesh! It forgot to tell us to make one last crucial turn so we'd get to the right spot. Dumbasses. Last trip for the day was to the cabin rental office to make sure they got the last payment and see if we could get exact directions to the cabin. This, they said, they dont NORMALLY do but since it was for a wedding (well duh they shoulda mailed me the map a month before so I could get it out to everyone!) they'd be happy to oblige. I told Babe we needed to get that map out via email the next day. He agreed and suggested signing the road too. Sometime during the trip back to his folks' house (or possibly the night before) I developed a nice case of sunpoisoning. I had blisters on my arms from the elbows down (worse on the right arm than the left). You can imagine how miserable and itchy that made me. Tuesday we went to the library for a bit because they have internet service there and I wanted to check my email. There were 60 messages in the main account that dated back to late Saturday night! I got them all cleared out and dropped a note to everyone with the map and instructions that "if you're anything like my mom, take several BComplexes and a couple Valiums before attempting to make the trip". Wednesday was a trip to visit mamaw. After we made a trip to WalMart.....just Babe, Dad and me. They looked in the clearance racks and were trying to decide on a dress shirt for Babe. Poor guy...we find ones that fit in the shoulders and they dont make it around his belly. I ended up sending him off to find a couple things he needed and while he was away I found a shirt and tie in minutes flat. Unfortunately we really shoulda gone to the big men's area for the tie but we made due. The shirt was a beautiful cream color and the tie was a maroon and black mix. He looks so damn sharp in those colors! While we were there I found a new tee-shirt for me. It's navy blue with Eeyore on it and underneath it says "Moody". Pretty much was beginning to fit my temper at that point. When we got home I made him try the shirt and tie on and asked yet again about his pants. Dug his pants out of the garment bag ( I packed em with my wedding dress and this was the first I'd even thought of the DFH since I left home) and made him try those on as well. Thankfully they fit. I wasnt looking forward to another WalMart trip to be honest. Thursday he and I drove to Knoxville to meet up with my friend Gary. We had supper at a Ruby Tuesdays there. The food was good and the dessert...OMG. Gary bought a towering cake or something. Holyshit that thing was big enough for 3-4 people to eat off it! There were 3 layers of cake, 3 layers of chocolate mousse, whipped cream and vanilla icecream in it. Needless to say we left a third of it. During Wednesday and Thursday is when I started breaking out in a mild case of hives. My nerves were cranked up and things in the house werent doing me any good. The least little thing got me up tight and pissy. Found out from my matron of honor that she forgot to rent a punch fountain because I hadnt really said yes or no (I thought I had, but maybe not) so I had to see if his mom had anything we could borrow. It was simple...just a punchbowl but it became a production and I ended up borrowing (and not really using) 2 punchbowls, 2 ladels, a big platter and 6-8 assorted bowls. *sighz* This meant a trip back to his folks house after the wedding....something I had been fighting against for months as she'd wanted to do a separate reception after the wedding and I had said "hell no" because we were gonna be there a full week before and anyone who REALLY wanted to see us coulda managed it. Besides it wasnt fair to my folks whom I was only going to get to see for maybe 2 -3 hours at best. Anyhow I ended up with all this stuff I was going to have to wash and return on Sunday. *sigh* Top things all off that car kept giving us fits and him n dad had to keep working on it. I voted for keeping the rental and leaving the car home until it was fixed properly (I went into this before...aint gonna again...ya'll know my feelings on this). Even if it meant keeping the rental until we got home and having Babe fly out later for the car. I was outvoted....but I was very very good...I didnt shoot back with the "well why the hell wasnt it put into the shop PRIOR to us getting here?" ....I wanted too sooooo badly...but I didnt. Friday arrives...hippy HOOORAY! I figure we'll be gone by noon or so right? Oh noooooooooooooooo. Mom tells us this morning that she has a dr appointment at 1130am. Mind you we've been there since Sunday and no mention of this was made beforehand. Top things off we still need to run the rental back to Knoxville and I dont drive so we need dad to come with us. This means that we couldnt return the rental until after 1130am because she had to be in time for her appointment *SIGHZ*. We got her to the appointment and ran the rental to Knoxville at which point dad says something about lunch. I piped in right about then with "We have to meet Sheila and Lee in Sevierville at 330pm and we still have to pack the car". Yep...I was getting pissier and itchier because the hives were hitting full force. We got back, packed and relaxed for a few minutes. Just before we left a family friend showed up to visit....which means we had to stick around for a bit. After awhile I was watching the time on my cell and thankfully Babe caught the hint. He got ready and we left.