[Edit: cereal, of course. I hadn't played with the night shift in so much time.]

Maria! How wonderful to post with you!

May I exploit you for something? Not right now, because I know it's the middle of the night for you, but just in general: Remember that you took a picture of me leaving DC? My last USA picture, until I get to vosot again? Do you still have it?

I like that in a weekend.

The balance of the universe. This is the weekend here, too (only it's still Friday noon. I'm guessing billytea is already timezoned to Friday evening). Our weekends are Friday-Saturday (and our Sundays are your Mondays), and still, I'm here, and not just for my one-hour Friday TAing. I'll probably be working until pretty much the time for shabbat. Sigh.

Oh, my. I am in a whiney mood this morning. billytea, can you share some fun stuff that you may be doing on your completely free weekend? Reading your posts from Bitches, your teatimes posts, was such a thing of loveliness and so very good.

BT, I'm glad to hear you get a weekend off.

Of course I still have it, Nilly. Would you like me to email it to you? I just have to get my DF to remember to bring the digital camera back from his office, because I don't have it on this computer.

Would you like me to email it to you?

Oh, could you? That would be great! Thank you so much! Now that I'm grateful, I can't even whine!

How are your wedding plans coming along? What else needs to be taken care of?

Oh, my. I am in a whiney mood this morning. billytea, can you share some fun stuff that you may be doing on your completely free weekend?

Well. I will, tomorrow, be picking up a new boardgame, called War of the Ring. It's based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy, of course, and by the sounds of things they've been quite clever about it. The good guys can win by taking the ring to Mount Doom, and the bad guys (who have a hefty military advantage) can win by taking over a large part of Middle Earth; but the good guys can also win by taking over a couple of the bad guys' strongholds, and the bad guys can also win by corrupting the Ringbearer. So both sides have to worry about both the war for Middle Earth, and Frodo's quest to destroy the ring. A lot like the books, really. It also means that both sides can, simultaneously, be both on the verge of victory and the brink of defeat. Should make for some nailbiting finishes.

Aside from that, my weekend highlight is going to be sleeping in. Because I'm worth it.

You weren't whining; you were simply explaining your hectic life right now.

It may not be until next week. This weekend is the long Memorial Day holiday and no one will be back into the office until Tuesday at the earliest.

How are your wedding plans coming along? What else needs to be taken care of?

Funny you should ask. I just posted my to do list on Live Journal, and it appears that I have 38 items that need to be taken care of--39 if you count hyperventilating and obsessing that I will have forgotten something. The next big items are invitations and deciding on the ceremony music and readings. We're not having a full Mass, since DF is not Catholic, but the ceremony outside of Mass is just as nice and full of meaning.

my weekend highlight is going to be sleeping in. Because I'm worth it.

Yes you are. It feels like a wonderful luxury, doesn't it?

Should make for some nailbiting finishes.

Excellent. On which side will you prefer to play?

my weekend highlight is going to be sleeping in

Very few things can make me feel as spoiled and on-time-off as sleeping in. Yay you!

39 if you count hyperventilating and obsessing that I will have forgotten something

Oh, something I can help with!

the ceremony outside of Mass is just as nice and full of meaning.

So you get the best of the needed compromise?

Will it stress you less if I ask what's already been taken care of? I don't think I even know how your dress is going to look like.

So you get the best of the needed compromise?

Yes. I don't have to feel awkward taking Communion when he can't, but it's taking place in the church in which I grew up. The thing I like about the sacrament of marriage in the Catholic Church is that the bride and groom administer the sacrament to each other; the priest is only there to facilitate the proceedings.

Will it stress you less if I ask what's already been taken care of? I don't think I even know how your dress is going to look like.

Well, we have the church, the reception site, the florist, the band, the photographer, the cake (his mother is going to make it), the wedding party, and a wedding planner. And the dress: [link]

The seamstress is going to make a portrait collar, something very Audrey Hepburn-esque, to cover my shoulders for the ceremony.

Oh, and Maria, I forgot to write - about the picture? Of course it's OK. It waited for several months, a few more days can't matter at all. And I appreciate it.

the bride and groom administer the sacrament to each other; the priest is only there to facilitate the proceedings.

Something similar takes place in the Jewish wedding. Basically, it can take place without any rabbi, providing there are witnesses (not as simple as the ceremony in "Our Mrs. Reynolds", but still - oh, have you ever managed to watch "Firefly"?).

And the dress

Oh, it's absolutely gorgeous! The same color, as well?

to cover my shoulders for the ceremony.

That sounds like it will fit the dress quite well. Many Jewish brides do something similar for the "khuppa", the seremony, and later take it off.

Excellent. On which side will you prefer to play?

Not really sure. It's hard to tell before I get the game and see what else is going on. I suspect the good guys, but it sounds like they're harder to play too.