Illinois, It's Been Real

First off, Bridgette's doing great. Nearly back to normal, except for that 6.25" incision thing. She and I recently had a wonderful weekend spending time with friends, making the most of this brief time back home to catch up with those we miss. It was a beautiful day, so I whipped up some grilled brats, burgers, and asparagus, while others prepared some salads, chips, and snacks, and we all enjoyed an adult beverage or two.

It's not easy playing host for a large group, and I usually have my better half to help me lift and move and general provide a respectable amount (likely majority) of labor. But too bad this time she got to claim "doctors orders" or some sort of rubbish. She said something about a "scar" and pain "meds" ... sure, whatever. And then she went so far as to suggest she was missing an entire organ. Psht! Unbelievable.

All joking aside, I actually had a great time running around, pulling out the yard games, and lawn chairs, and helping prep the watercraft death vehicle. I was lucky enough to catch the photo here of Brad.

Unfortunately, at some point, my own personal celebration of Bridgette's recovery caught the best of me, and I promptly found a bed to pass out fall asleep on. My sincere thanks to those that helped clean up and leave the place in excellent condition for us in the morning.

So what have we been doing since then? Well, Bridgette returned to Springfield to wrap up bride's and bridesmaids' dresses, and even managed to squeeze some insurance claims in there. I have stayed up north in Elgin to complete some graphics work for my father, and help lock down appointments with wedding vendors for when we all venture out to Idaho next week.

But before we leave for Idaho, my family is congregating for a reunion this weekend to celebrate birthdays (sister's and brother's ... maybe mine a bit?) and catch up before we all part ways, whether it's San Francisco, Atlanta, Boise, Chicago, or Paris. I've heard rumors that pinatas will be involved; stand back.

So expect more wedding-planning posts before we get back to the good ol' fun of adventuring across La France.

Farewell Bikini Summer

Ok, I'm sure none of you have been able to sleep, so I'll relieve the anticipation ; ) We have one lucky winner being Ms. Laura Novick with her guess of 6 1/4" for the incision length. Way to go! Adam even got a sneak peak of the thing and still guessed about 3" over. Yes, it's quite deceiving.

Now on to a year of keeping it covered from the elements (the nurse warned against sun and frost. Frost?! Like I really look like the roll-in-the-snow-naked kind of person?) and a farewell to a summer of bikinis. My girlfriends were saying they've actually seen some really cute one pieces out this season, and I wondered if they were just saying that to be nice, or that our tastes really are turning old. (no offense all you one piece wearers...it's just that I haven't worn a one piece since about 8th grade, and the only people I ever see wearing them are either kids or moms : ). Well, just an excuse to go shopping now, I guess.

As for everything else, life is slowly turning back to normal, and in our downtime, Adam and I have been enjoying the ability to relax, play games, read books, watch movies, and, oh yes, wedding plan. I sit in our living room looking at the forest of flower arrangements and get-well cards and think, wow, it looks like someone just had a funeral! Crazy to think that all these symbols of good thoughts and prayers came from such a variety of friends and family who where able to reach out from all over the world. I think that's the part the makes me tear up the most - not the pain from the surgery, but the amount of love that really surrounds me. It's freakin' incredible. Thank You Everyone!

From here on out, I just don't know how exciting our blog will be for awhile since most of the scare and worry has subsided, but then again, that's how we want it, right? With fingers crossed that everything heals as planned, Adam and I still will be plowing ahead with our summer agenda - time home with the family, out to Idaho for some wedding planning at the end of June, then back to France to explore the south for the rest of the summer. I do have a mandatory check-up at the Mayo in three months, so I'll be headed back to the US for Labor Day before heading back and starting Chapter II of life in Paris.