well, this weekend was eventful. i was in a wedding. there will be pictures online somewhere, but they haven't published them yet so be patient. i was a bridesmaid, replete in heels and poofy hair. the two who were married are friends of mine from grad school.. i was there when she first decided she liked him and was unsure whether she should ask him out. i would love to say i was the one who said "of course you should ask him, sieze the moment, live for today, you only live once, what's the worst that could happen, grow a pair. i wasn't the one though, i just said something like "um, i don't know".

anyhow, the wedding was great. except for the two ladybugs that flew down the back of my dress less than thirty seconds after the cermony began. the ceremony only lasted 15 minutes. karen cried during the vows, which they wrote themselves, and the boys slapped a plastic ball and chain on mike's leg before they walked down the aisle at the end. i met lots of mike's friends that i'd only heard about up until then. i got to see other friends that i haven't talked to in a while and i got to feel all grownup and responsible when i held the bag for the dollar dance at the reception. incidentally, i spent the entirety of the reception in my stocking feet 'cause my borrowed heels were hateful. dan was kind enough to go get my sneakers from the car, though, so i wore those for the last half hour or so. there was dancing, and a fish-shaped groom's cake made out of pumpkin fudge with a transparent glaze of green frosting and gigantic red lips. oh, and a pumpkin candy eyeball.

on the way back jessie and i took the long way home. we stopped at a winery, wenona, on the side of the road, and a pumpkin patch stand in that i think was in peru. it was a wonderful day. the sun was out, it was unseasonably warm, and we played the farm animal game all the way home. i think i won, but am not sure. when we finally got home to rockford, we ended up at the park, where we hiked around and took pictures of autumn leaves, which we ended up throwing at each other as we ran willy nilly down the trail.. i love "willy nilly", it's my new thing.

now it's back to the grind, and house cleaning in preparation for the arrival of my mother, who's flying in on thursday. i am totally psyched.

ah swiffer, how i missed thee.....