Wait, is that... SUN?? I barely recognize you after all these months!

It was 80 on Sunday! After four years of Southern California winters, I still roll my eyes a little bit when calling 50 degrees "warm", but Sunday was legitimately warm. I got a taste of what summer+pregnancy is going to be like, and it's not exactly pleasant! So far I've only gained 10 pounds, and it made me very apprehensive of what 80 degrees will feel like once I've gained another 20.

Maybe it will snow tomorrow, but I firmly maintain that Spring is in the air (yes, it deserves a capital S). I'm planning on tackling a real garden this summer, for the first time in my life, and I'm getting disproportionately excited. It may just be the prospect of spending extended periods of time getting fresh air and sunshine, both of which have been the cravings that can't be taken care of with a run to the grocery store. We shall find out if my tendency to kill every plant I attempt to grow in pots indoors extends to vegetables in a garden. Here's hoping I have my mom's green thumb. I feel like a little kid whenever the UPS truck shows up at the village: "Is that it? Will he have my gardening supplies? Hmmm... that box looks like the right size! Hey, he's coming into our building! He's knocking on our door!! ...oh. Honey, your books are here. Again." One of these days that disappointing UPS guy will have something for me, I just know it! Meanwhile, my very talented husband built me a mini-greenhouse in which to start my seedlings. He seemed surprised when I told him what vegetables I was going to grow in it, though. Said it was boring or something...

Oh, and it feels like I practically could have written a large part of Tim's last post myself. When I read it, I had just heard that song, and I have the same images in my head from when it was played. Another song (albeit a less romantic one) that will always make me think of the wedding is Lady Gaga's "Telephone." I know, sad right? Whenever I play it, all I can think about is being in the middle of a group of friends, all dancing our hearts out and singing (well, yelling anyway) at the top of our lungs. Not to mention Tim's amazing dance moves, inspired by this video (which unfortunately is restricted from playback, so here's the link):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haHXgFU7qNI

See 0:50-1:22. Such good times.

This will always remind me indelibly of our wedding.

No, not the slightly toolish presentation and composition of the video, but the song itself. Certain moments just get branded into your memory, allowing quick recall even many years later. (Some of my favorite childhood memories are this way.) Before we got married, several people gave me the seemingly cheesy advice (which I think they stole from The Office) that I should look around and take a mental snapshot of the image because the day would be a blur. Of course, they were right, the day was a blur. I tried to get as many images like this as I could throughout the weekend: rehearsal dinner on the back patio with TAC friends; that bottle of port with Dad (which now sits on our bookshelf here in South Bend); late night beers with my groomsmen and others after everyone had left the rehearsal dinner; waking up at 5:45 AM on Saturday and getting up because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep; breakfast with mom; showering and trying to figure out how in the hell to put on a morning suit; Matt Lancaster (thank you, Matt) suggesting a rosary in the car on the way to the church; getting to the church way too freakin' early and waiting around for what seemed like forever; then this:

You look awfully unhappy there, o father-in-law.

Then on through the wedding, reception, etc., etc., ditto, ditto. I could, of course, name a bunch of other moments but I'll spare you the boredom of it all. Mostly I have specific memories of moments during the reception, including shortly before we left, when they played the above song. (It was huge last summer.) It summed the day up pretty well: lots of chaos, everyone (well, the undignified ones) singing at the top of their lungs, dancing (even the dignified ones) with great abandon.

I'll never hear that song any more without thinking of our wedding, which I must confess I like.