Six Weeks 'Till the Wedding

I went home a couple weeks ago to attend a bridal shower thrown for me. It was hosted at my younger sister's house and was planned by my mom and a very good friend. My friend spoiled me by including goat cheese (which I love) in almost every dish. She further spoiled me by making these great fruit cup thingys that she invented and I adore. The mimosa's provided by my mom were just the icing on the cake.
That afternoon I got to see my old Bible study leader, a very good family friend, and almost all of my close friends that live in CA. I had a complete blast. Some of them hadn't met each other before so they finally got to put faces to names. We completely took over my little sister's house for hours just sitting around being chatter boxes. It was great just sitting back and relaxing and knowing everyone was having fun.
This past weekend was a bridal shower thrown for me by my fiancé’s aunt and cousin. They blew me away. We played a game where you guessed which spice was in the cute balls of tissue and one where you had to remember all the things on the tray. I also got to meet more of my fiancé’s relatives including his maternal grandmother. She looks so much like my paternal grandmother its almost creepy. Mostly that's because my paternal grandmother passed away 10 years ago. So seeing her out of the corner of my eye made me jump a couple times.
That aside it was a fantastic way to get to know my future in-laws. My fiancé comes from a very close knit group and they all welcomed me with open arms. The theme was kitchen and every one that attended brought recipes. I was amazed by how many of his family gave me cherished family recipes. His paternal grandmother even made me a hand embroidered apron. We all laughed and made jokes and wowed over the great food that was served.
After wards my future MIL drove all the gifts to the apartment my fiancé is living in. I got to show off the place to my mom, my friend, and my future MIL. The couch we bought was in place and all the moving boxes hidden in his car. The place is on the small side but just big enough for two. We've even managed to find a way to create a study nook which is good considering we'll both be full time students in the fall.
While my mom was here we managed to find this gorgeous silk dress for her to wear to my wedding. It shows off her great curves and my friend kept joking about how thrilled my dad is going to be when he sees her in it. Also, we managed to get a better idea of how to make the chapel decorations. The decorations for the reception are almost completely decided and will mostly be white and burgundy tulips.
Speaking of decorations, AnotherDan has taken over building the cross we need to decorate the chapel. AnotherDan is my future FIL's best friend. (Since my future FIL's name is Dan his best friend was given the nickname AnotherDan). The cross went from simple to made of cherry wood with a dark cherry stain and fluting running along both lengths of wood. I can't wait to see the finished project.
All in all I think the wedding plans are coming together. The honeymoon is planned and honestly I'm looking forward to sleeping. School is crazy and has taken over most of my life. I'm enjoying it still and I'm making wonderful friends in the program. It is a challenge to find time to plan, to enjoy being a bride, and most importantly to find time to focus on my fiancé. I'm looking forward to being out of school this summer so I can enjoy being a newlywed.

One, maybe two

I think I finally have friends here that I haven't met through my tour guide.
Last weekend my department went to a professional baseball game. Since I was given two tickets I decided to invite my roommate. I haven't seen a lot of her lately. She is pretty much living in another town right now, about 45 min away without traffic. She got a summer job working as a juvenile defender. It is a really long commute so she is staying with her fiance most of the time. When we were at the game we spent most of the time laughing at talking and having fun. Afterwards we walked home and part way I realized we had managed to form a friendship while living together.
The other friend (maybe) is the woman who has been training me at work. I enjoy her company and we are supposed to go to a concert soon. Unfortunately I'm not sure I can trust her to be more than someone to hang out with. She's a bit of a gossip and there are some things I would rather not have people at work know.
Other than that I still just have acquaintances at church. Haven't really connected with anyone yet, but I'm not giving up. School seems to be the only place I'm not making headway. My classmates won't talk to me. I'm not really sure why, but now that I'm at the end of the school quarter I know its not in my head. As people file in and out of class they ignore me. During break they will slightly turn away as I pass, just enough to discourage me from joining the conversation. Worse, a couple of them make comments under their breath whenever I speak in class. At this point I'm writing the class off and looking forward to the fall. Hopefully the next group of classmates are kinder.