The joy through the insanity

I am not an event planner. My preference is to just show up and have fun. The Man is even less of a party planner than me. Between his barong not being here yet and the fact that he is going to be saying "declarations of love" in front of our families, The Man cannot wait for the wedding to be done. And, while I know I'm going to enjoy the day of our wedding ... I have to agree with him! We are both really looking forward to the vacation portion of it all. For me, it's the worrying that everything will go according to plan, people will have fun, like the food and that everything will end up as nice as I envisioned it in my head. Because, let's face it, it all sounds well and good but who the heck knows how things are going to play out. Take it for however it may sound but we both cannot wait to get married!
Despite the stress, there is a lot of joy in my life right now. Besides the fact that I'm getting hitched to the most fantastic guy I know, there have been other wonderful treats as the day gets closer. People in my life have rallied together and have made me feel so loved. They have made the days closer to the wedding actually bearable and having given me pockets of stress-free fun during such a busy time.
A few close friends got together and decided to throw me a tea party two weeks ago. With "penis" as the theme. No lie. Serves me right as these are the same women who had to put up with me for two years telling them different vagina words as they pass me by. Just to refresh your memory, my favorites to utter were snatch, cooter, poon, vajayjay ... it's been so long, I can't remember the rest. Anyway, I think two of the three women went to sex shops up and down the peninsula for this little party. There was a blow up doll (I think his name was Peter Peckerwood but I'm not sure), penis-shaped tea sandwiches, penis-shaped haupia (that was interesting considering that haupia is the color, of, umm, you know), penis skewers, penis straws, penis confetti ... you get the picture. Keep in mind, while I am very comfortable all topics vagina, I have never been a fan of penis decorations. I think that was the point.
But the effort ... these women were so sweet. They made delicious treats and tried to keep everything low fat and sugar free! One friend made scrumptious coconut bread pudding, pineapple pastries ... all sugar free. Another woman made the sandwiches with whole wheat bread and low fat egg salad and tuna salad. The other friend made a delicious salad with mandarin oranges and dried cranberries and also baked tortilla-d (in lieu of breaded) chicken. They were all trying to support my effort to eat healthily, especially before the wedding.
As a thank you, I made them little care kits to take to Hawaii. It included spray sunblock, chapstick with SPF, different types of their favorite alcohol in the small sizes (like the ones you get on a plane) and a travel-size Aleve for any headaches or hangovers :) These women are so sweet. They even made up a game where they asked Gil a bunch of questions before through email and then quizzed me on how well we knew each other. I think I got 98% right! I told him we should go on that Newlyweds show but, again, way outside his comfort zone ;)
I've included only one picture that is very modest and reserved. The other pictures with the penis paraphernalia ... well, I'm just not that comfortable posting!

And then, last week, my knitting group threw me a surprise get together. They told me it was a Sex and the City party (most of the women didn't see this show until my friend and I introduced it to them. And whooooo-doggie! They love it! Hehehe.) We've all talked about watching a few episodes before the movie comes out ... which we're going to see together ;) Anyway, I arrive and it ends up being a small dinner party for me! They were so sweet. One of them, a lovely lady in her 60s, decided to make me a condom lei. Seriously. I made her tell me the story of how she selected condoms at Target - "I wanted to get the colorful ones so it would make a pretty lei!" - and hid it among her other stuff because she was embarrassed. That alone made my night. But they, too, were so sweet and wanted to support my efforts to eat healthily. The dinner was all about making our own sushi hand rolls! It was a truly beautiful spread - fresh crab, unagi (they remembered that this is my absolute favorite!), cucumber, avocado, sprouts ... and they also made two different types of edamame to make it interesting - garlic and teriyaki. Just like my other friends, they really went out of their way to make it a healthy yet delicious dinner. They also made it festive by having flowers, colorful lantern lights, a little banner and cheesy but fun leis (sans condoms for the other folks.) Oh, and the one group member who couldn't make it even crocheted me a whip.
Foreel.
Here are these lovely ladies:

I feel really blessed. I am very thankful for the wonderful friends I have in my life. I did not expect any of this because we are having such a small wedding that I figured these kind of parties don't happen unless one has a big to do. But even though most of my friends are not coming, they still wanted to send me off. So although I am stressed, sometimes irritated (slightly to majorly, depending on the situation), and just wanting the wedding to already happen, I am so very happy.