Yada, yada, yada.

I have been dreading a new blog post for the longest time, putting it off with the lamest of excuses. "I'm too tired," or "I should be cleaning the kitchen," "doing research," "something productive." O yeah, or "making money." I think that the reason for my excuses is that I put way too much pressure on my next blog entry. I always promise to write about one thing or another in my next post and usually, I don't want to. So, like a bad habit, I put it off, and squash my creative genius. Just kidding. But, really, this post will be my release. Let's call it a purge post. So, get ready. Who knows what the next paragraph will hold.

Will and I are finally settled in our new place, but then again, not really. We are currently showering at Mar and Lar's (his sister and brother-in-law's), since our shower has a full wall of tiles minus the grout and a few tiles as well. This bathroom has proved to be quite the hassle. We are currently allowing it to lie dormant in order to dry so that it can be re-grouted for the third time! I'm tempted to get a big metal tub and bathe in the middle of the kitchen like my grandmother did as a child. I have two huge dutch ovens perfect for heating large quantities of water. Who needs a tiled shower anyways?

Will and I finally got our tv, a wonderful gift from an even more wonderful lady that works at the hospital with Will. Those women just love him. They have given and offered us so much. The tv is great even if we only get 16 channels. Better than nothing, right? Yep. But the size of the thing is incredible. It took two grown men, grunting and sweating all the while to get it and its circa-1998 girth into the house and then onto the stand. It is a gigantic black box that has turned our tiny living room into a cinema. I refuse to put a picture of it up; I am that emabarrassed.

I did post pictures of the cottage on facebook. Please, look at them there. I really hate uploading pictures on the blog. It takes forever. The quality is significantly diminished. And, it is a pain in my neck trying to organize them all onto the same axis and in the same dimensions. I'd rather not have a nervous breakdown from blogging. [But, please, check them out and if you can't, let me know. I will send you a link!]

For our one month anniversiary, Will and I spent a quiet evening at home. We didn't even cook, as leftovers were on the menu, and it never tasted so good. We have been going nonstop after the move-in, so it was nice to have a peaceful night of softly playing music, John Mayer and his "Clarity," Bob Marley for always and whatever else the shuffle chose for our entertainment. Will picked out a bouquet of green roses, daisies and these odd little flowers the most perfect shade of green that were laying on the table when I walked in; he even arranged them himself in our new vase. They looked smashing, as he is a man of many talents.

So far, marriage has been a blast. Its nice to have someone to come home to. Perhaps, I am being a bit nostalgic, but no, being nostalgic never can be a good thing. Remembering a time that never existed, or, in which you never existed and how things never quite were is not good at all. I think old-fashioned would be a better word. So, yes, I am being a bit old-fashioned when I say that its nice to belong to someone. He is home, and I humbly hang my proverbial hat in his heart every night. And, it feels good, really good.

He has taken a lot of call to make up for my unemployment, and he has unusually been called in a lot, a whole lot. I am learning to deal with these unexpected interruptions into our day, but don't think that I ever will get used to them. And, for that matter, I never want to get used to them. They are an intrusion and I will always see them as a theft, but I will in time come to relish even more the time that we have together in the then and the now. As I sit here on the couch, I'm listening to the rain tap-tap-tapping on the roof and the tick-tocking of our new clock, waiting for him to come home, eat his nightly snack of cereal and then warm up my side of the bed before I enter our meatlocker of a bedroom and dive under the quilt. Hurry home!!

And now, for the sake of lightening the load a little further off of my back, I will fulfill a blog promise and tell of the day that followed the night I first met Will. That next morning, I saw him in church, sitting two rows ahead of me. I nearly hit the floor so shocked was I. And, as horrible as it is to admit, I don't think that I heard a word of Buster's sermon that day, but I could probably tell you every detail of the most incredible daydream, complete with wedding bells and a long white dress. Pathetic? Perhaps at the time, but who's laughing now?

I know that at the end of several posts, I have mentioned getting Will on here to say a few words. I really want that to happen as soon as possible. Maybe, he can lend a little coherence to my otherwise useless and chaotic babbling. Have I made any sense on here at all?? I feel like such a fraud. I know that wild tales of the West Virginia wilderness would be much more entertaining than our year as Sandlappers, but thankfully, I am not to blame for that one. But, then again, maybe I am, since I jumped the gun and joined the blog bandwagon a little too soon. Guilty as charged. And, another thing, what is it with this medium that induces from me the most cliche of utterances? I would be hurled bodily from any creative writing course for committing such a crime within the literary bounds of workshop, since for all of you non-creative writers, cliches are strictly forbidden. So much for that degree.

Where to next? Hmm.. since I am no longer pressuring myself from blog entry to blog entry, I will be sure to leave this one open-ended. Why do I feel like I have to promise something for next time anyways? Talk about pressure.

But, bugs. I will talk about bugs and how much I hate them. They seem to love me though and have found every entry not visible to human eyes through which to penetrate into my house. If I find one more roach belly-up on the floor during my 3am trek to the toilet, I might just do something about it. Like buy the powder that everyone keeps telling us about to get rid of them. Yeah, that's a logical response to bug infestation and a threat, so watch it bugs. Too bad any action has yet to be taken. I certainly don't mind leaving them to our ferocious panther, named Lottie. She usually deals with them in a timely manner. Although, the random cricket legs and sqashed spiders, her spoils of war, are not that pleasant to pick off the floor with your morning coffee.

Next time, a spontaneous and just as random post will be delivered, totally unplanned, minus all the pressure, but full of newlyweds. Enjoy!

Well, hello marriage. I'm Bri. Nice to meet ya.

Will and I have now been married for 25 days. We moved into our very own place this past Saturday after camping out in his mom's basement for 2 weeks, waiting for our little cottage to be made ready for us. For the past 3 weeks, I wasn't quite sure how marriage was supposed to feel or what it would be like. But, I think that last night, Will and I both experienced first hand the difference between dating and marriage. There is no parting of the ways at the end of the night, where he goes to his apartment and I stay at mine. Here is how it went. Will was annoyed about all of the bugs that keep finding secret passageways into the house. I was frustrated by the job market and my lack thereof. We were cooking dinner in our tiny galley kitchen, and the two of us made way too many cooks. Needless to say, we weren't exactly speaking to one another, but chopping and stirring silently, while dodging eachother between the sink and the stove. Dinner was delicious but quiet, and maybe even a little strained. By bedtime, we had both had enough. I confronted him. He confronted me. We weren't mad or upset or frustrated or annoyed with eachother, but with the house and our situations. We resolved the issue and made up. Thank God for "I'm sorry's."

I had an interview with Historic Columbia yesterday. It went extremely well. I will begin an internship on Wednesday, updating, editing, researching and fixing their briefs of historic buildings. I am excited to have something to do, especially something that I love doing, organizing, researching, editing, writing. I finally have a purpose and it feels great to be needed to do something, anything. Sadly, it is an unpaid position, but my pseudo-boss is awesome. He really wants to help me out in the employment area, and is looking around. Finally, something is happening for me. I don't think I can have another idle day, where the only thing to distract me is shopping for cool things for the cottage. AAAHHHHH. No income = should not shop. If only I could fully grasp that equation.

Our cottage is great. We painted and cleaned and scrubbed and swept and dusted and washed it until it was shiny and new for us. If only the bugs could comprehend our Do Not Disturb policy, things would be perfect. I will post pictures as soon as we move in the tv and put the leaves on the kitchen table. Then, I think we can call it finished and ready for publication.

I have completed 22 thank-you notes and am on my way this afternoon to buy stamps. I totally under-achieved my goal, but at least I got some of them done. Will and I are going to get on them tonight.

Well, just wanted to give a little update. I will post again very soon with pictures. I will also continue the saga of Will and Bri and the night that we met and the morning that followed (not to worry - we parted on the corner that night), but not right now. Maybe, I will get Will on here soon.

Until then.

Lies, All Lies

So, WVSOM, Will's medical school in WV, has made a liar out of me! He was not called off of the alternate list to attend this August, so we will be making our home for the next year in Columbia. I would be lying if I said that I was in any way disappointed by this. I am actually very happy to live in Columbia for our first year of marriage. We will be moving into an adorable little cottage in Rosewood all next week. I cannot wait to get my hands on that apartment! I have visions for all three rooms of which it is comprised! Pictures to follow.

Will and I just purchased the cutest bedside tables and lamps and rugs for our bedroom. Building a life together is such fun! It still doesn't feel quite real. Living in his mother's basement feels a lot like it did when I would come for visits, except that we get to sleep together now. We are calling the move to our new apartment "our third honeymoon," because each transition has been so new and exciting. We have agreed to look at each new chapter in our life as another consecutive honeymoon.

Yet again, I am struggling with thank-you notes. It isn't that I am ungrateful for all of the amazing gifts that we have received, or that I don't want to thank the wonderful friends and family who gave us the gifts. It is just that I am completely overwhelmed by the process. For instance, forcing myself to sit at a table for a few hours is daunting when I should be painting a table or washing our cat, Lottie, or doing laundry--all of which needs to be done! Then, sorting through the lists of gifts received and who gave them and worrying that I may have already sent them a thank-you and forgot to mark them off the list really stresses me out. So, I will apologize here if anyone receives multiple thank-you notes. Just know how appreciative Will and I are for everything! I will stop complaining now. My goal is to have completed 20 by tonight.

I am currently on a mad job hunt. I have an interview with Historic Columbia, unfortunately for an unpaid internship. My goal is to get paid for my work, but who can be picky during times like these?? I guess not me. I mean two BAs in Historic Preservation and English haven't really set me up for anything! Why couldn't I have loved numbers and been an accountant??? I am a little stressed out about the job situation. I have called and emailed every architectural firm, publishing company, local magazine and newspaper that I could google, and usually with the same response. They aren't hiring at the moment but an internship opportunity might be available. Thanks! But, really, no thanks. I no longer have a scholarship to support me through my free labor or the excuse of being a student to explain away being broke. Hmm.... real world realization: money really doesn't grow on trees and it kind of does make the world go 'round. Too bad Carnival! had us all believing that love was responsible for that phenomenon.

I refuse to be defeated by this, however. I will get a job and I will be damn good at it, too. I feel that if I keep telling myself this, I will get something, even if it is calling in a favor to be a waitress at Groucho's. Better than nothing, right?

I just feel so guilty every morning, as Will drags himself out of our warm bed at 5am to shower and coffee-up in order to get to work by 6. I get to lay in bed for another 3 maybe even 4 hours, to wake up to an empty house and empty inbox. I feel a little pathetic and a little bored and a little lonely. I love having a job to do and I love doing it well. Now that I am no longer distracted by planning a wedding and graduating cum laude with two degrees, I think that I could be really useful somewhere doing anything! Hire me! Please!

Ok. Enough of that pity party. I have been happily married for a little over 2 weeks now. I can't wait to see Will when he gets off work today. I will have accomplished 5 thank-you notes and finished sanding the table and maybe even have done some laundry. I will have definitely bathed Lottie. There. Saying it out loud and typing it into cyber space surely will hold me to it. Here's hoping!

I feel like at the end of every paragraph I should have ended this post, but for some reason, I just keep on going. There are so many things that I wish I was doing right now, and none of which needs to be done right now. I want to write a book. I want to redesign some body's house. I want to get dressed up and go to a meeting, because I am somebody with a job that matters. I want to coordinate Historic Columbia's next event. I want to go to the beach with Will and forget about everything but us for awhile. I want to move into our new apartment right now. But, I think that I will wash some dishes and then do my thank-you notes, because those are a few of the things that I should really be doing right now.

It is Official

At the moment, I have the shakes from an overload of coffee. I should probably postpone my blogging until my brain slows down and my eyeballs stop quivering, but I am feeling literary. Last time, I left the blog hanging at the end of the night when I first met Will. I promise to continue that story soon, but not right now. Right now, I will tell you about our wedding, when I became officially, Bri Jackson.

It was truly a whirlwind weekend, beginning with my crazy bachelorette party in my most favorite of cities, Charleston. I had the best bridesmaids in the entire world and they saw to it that I had the craziest, wildest and most entertaining last night of singlehood, complete with naughty gifts, a light up crown and a cucumber. I will leave it at that. It was awesome and I love all of them very much.

We had to be in Florence the next day by 1 for the bridal luncheon. Perhaps, not the best plan, but we all made it in one state or another and ate and pulled off a great little celebration, I think. My mom has been nothing but awesome throughout this whole process, as she provided an excellent lunch and accommodations for all of our guests. It was just a fun time, a happy time for all as the girls and I sat and recounted the previous night's adventures and my aunts tried to figure out just what had gone down. Mum's the word.

Next, was the rehearsal at 6. It was a bit stressful for me. I was almost sick with worry that I would ruin the entire ceremony the next day by blubbering through it all, and this worry pricked at me throughout the whole rehearsal, while my knees shook, the only rational part of my body that realized what was about to happen 24 hours later. Thank goodness that Addie was there to be my stand-in bride. I think I would have lost it had she not been. My bridesmaids were loud and kept getting yelled at by my dad, which distracted me in a good way. The rehearsal for the most part went very smoothly. The dinner followed at Bazen's with delicious country cooking. The slideshow that Addie and Georgiana made was wonderful! It was embarassing at parts, but sweet and perfect. I loooved the music! I will post it on here as soon as I get it.

The Chapmans threw us a little cocktail party after the dinner in their backyard that was surely fit for any party. They were nothing but hospitable, housing a few of my bridesmaids and hosting us for cocktails by the pool. It was wonderful. I am so thankful for everything that they contributed. Mrs. Chapman did my hair for the wedding and gave us such an exciting gift! I can't wait to make the recipe's that she included.

I don't know how, but I slept that whole night through. I even left the party early--probably the best decision I ever made. I needed sleep more than anything and was worried that I would be anxious and toss and turn, but sleep claimed me almost immediately. I awoke feeling refreshed and ready for my big day. I couldn't eat anything, but I was ready.

The morning was to begin with the bridesmaids' gifts, manis-pedis all around. BUT, the nail salon apparently forgot about my appointment and left us stranded outside their shop for 45 minutes until we finally deserted for Nail Pro. Thankfully, they were able to squeeze us in and make us all happy! Crisis averted.

I went home and showered, still not quite believing that I was about to marry the only man I have ever loved. Georgiana picked me up for my hair appointment that was a nice time to laugh at my teased bangs and forget about my worries for awhile. My hair looked amazing. Then, the butterflies set in.

Georgiana and I drove out to the Columns, and all that I could think was "you are not going to cry, you are not going to cry." But, I did, just a little. It was go time when we got there. Will had written me a note that I read and cried over and then Georgiana with the help of Hannah read it out loud. And, we all got a little teary eyed.

Then, it was all makeup and dresses and hair and thankfully, an excuse to think of something other than the wedding. I needed to be distracted and thanks to Georgiana's hair clip and Hannah's oil-stained dress and sparkling wine, I was able to forget about my nerves for awhile.

Steven, our wonderful photographer, was there throughout it all. It was actually nice to have a male presence in the bridal suite. I think it kept the mushiness to a minimal, plus we all had to be clear-complexioned and not puffy for the pictures! The delicious smell of his Chik-fil-A was surprisingly comforting.

We took pictures of just the girls before the ceremony. It was fun and distracting and added a little comic relief as they all picked me up and almost dropped me in my white, white dress for the sake of a picture. I can't wait to see how that one turned out. Apparently, Will was made to sit on the floor during our shoot so that he wouldn't see me out the windows. It is crazy to think that we spent the majority of that day just a room apart. He said that he could hear me talking. We couldn't see eachother--that was absolutely forbidden.

After the shoot, we went back to the bridal suite and took off our dresses and baby-powdered up for the ceremony. At this point, I was short of breath and on the verge of freaking out,but I somehow remained calm and with the code word of "cucumber!" made it to the ceremony without breaking down.

I couldn't see the ceremony from where Dad and I were standing behind the gigantic Magnolia tree waiting for our turn to walk, but I'm sure that it went exactly as I planned. I was so nervous, standing back there waiting, threatening my dad that absolutely, under no circumstances were any tears allowed.

As we walked in between the trees and came out into the yard, I saw Will standing there waiting for me and was instantly calmed.

"This isn't so bad," I thought to myself. "What is there to cry about? This is the beginning of everything. And, I love him more than life." That was when the biggest grin of my life set in, not to be disturbed by anxiety or nervousness or even tripping over my dress the whole way up the steps. I don't know if Will and I were supposed to hold hands for the entire ceremony or if I was supposed to be looking at Aunt Pat instead of him as she performed it, but I couldn't have done anything differently if I had tried. I just wanted to look up at him and smile and be happy with him in front of everyone, so that is exactly what I did.

The tears that I had fought off so hard for the past two days were nowhere to be found, until of course we recessed back down the aisle to the wonderful sound of the trumpet. Once there, realization dawned and the tears rimmed up and overflowed. Will was there with a hanky to wipe them away, and so began our life as Mr. and Mrs. William Carrington Jackson.