Where the heck have I been?

Hello dear readers,
I'm sorry it's been so long (almost a month!) since my last post. Life has been insanely busy lately with final projects, wedding planning and wrapping up my practicum in the St. Paul Schools (my last day was last Tuesday...sad...I miss them).

Here is a not-so-quick update of what the heck I've been up to during this long blog absence...

Grad school stuff:

• Doing research about TBI (see post below from March or April). I ended up finding 11 studies, which is pretty good. I'm giving a poster presentation on Wednesday night -- students, faculty and the public (like, real SLPs from the community) will show up and wander from poster to poster and I need to pretend like I know what I'm talking about and give them the quick 'n dirty summary of what group treatment should look like for adult TBI patients.
• Working on other school projects for my motor speech disorders and augmentative & alternative communication classes. Both very interesting, but they give us way too much to do with far too little notice. I'm very over-tired and ready for this semester to be over! (are you bored yet? are you still reading?)
• Finishing up my second year of grad school! Only one more year left! I wish I was done this year...but I know the rest will fly by.
• Realizing that I really like working in the schools! The flexibility and laid-back atmosphere is really nice. I even surprised myself by also realizing how much fun I had working with the kids in the Autism program. I never thought I'd feel comfortable working with kids who are low-functioning, but it was really fun. I will miss them a lot!
  

Wedding stuff:

• Bought some fun paper and other supplies at the Paper Depot (which rocks!) to make wedding invitations. Yes, I might be crazy, but have you met me? I love crafty projects, and I'm hoping to get all paper cut and ready and then have a little army of friends over to form an assembly line of invitation makers. :) Food and drinks will be provided, of course.
• Bought some cute mason jars and different size vases from some garage sales to use as candle holders and vases for centerpieces for the wedding. Here is my inspiration:

• Booked a bluegrass band called The Fishheads! They play a huge mix of stuff, all with a bluegrass twist. I chatted with Kim (member of the band) yesterday, and she wants suggestions for songs or artists to be played at the wedding -- they've done everything from Aerosmith to the BeeGees, so if you have any ideas, let me know! Should be great fun.
• Eric's been doing research for our honeymoon, and the latest and greatest idea is to go to the Loire Valley in France! Oh la la! C'est fantastique! Seriously, best idea ever. We can apparently rent bikes and bike from Chateau to Chateau, drink wine and stay in cute little cottages off the beaten path. Nothing is booked yet because we're watching airfares waiting for the prices to go down a bit. Eric et moi, nous sommes deja practiquer notre francais!
  

Other stuff:

• Eric and I have been doing lots of yard work. Poor Eric tried to plant some seeds to grow vegetables, but Indy saw him digging and thought it'd be a good idea to help...so pretty sure the seeds are strewn about randomly (some in the grass, some in the flower bed...). We might end up with zuccini growing in the middle of our lawn?
• We have tulips in our yard. What a lovely surprise -- they weren't there last year when we moved in, so this was a delightful spring surprise.
• On Thursday this week I will be going to San Francisco to visit my dear friend and old college roomie, Emily (and Sam will be meeting us there from Denver, as well). I am soooo looking forward to escaping for a bit and taking a much needed vacation after the stress of this semester. We're planning on running/walking the Bay to Breaker 12K, which is a pretty well-known run through San Fran that involves people wearing costumes and sometimes having adult beverages along the way... Our team is going to be dressed as Where's Waldo. :)

If you've gotten this far, I would like you to leave a comment consisting of your favorite song to hear at a wedding. Thanks. :)