2 kids from jersey

Last night was my first graduate class! I am taking Intro to Public Administration Tuesday and Thursday nights from 5:30-9:00pm for the next 6 weeks. The professor seems cool. He’s a youngish PhD candidate who already completed and graduated from the School of Public Administration (SPAA). He talks really really fast and throws out a lot of information all at once. I’m definitely going to have to make sure I do the reading in order to keep up! Other than that, it doesn’t seem to tough. There aren’t any exams; everything is papers. I’ll have a 3 page due each week and a big take home final. Now I just have to go buy my text book. I’ve got to read all of chapter 2 for class tomorrow.

YIPPEE!!

I finally took the plunge and ordered my dress. Chrissy O’s Bridal in Newton, NJ were able to give me a great deal and it should be here October 30th. Just in time for Halloween!!

I took Thursday & Friday off work to head to south jersey and clean out my old bedroom. Mom & Dad want to make it more of a guest room, so it was time to go through all my old crap. I can’t believe some of the stuff I saved! When did I ever think I would want to go back to my old high school American History notebook?! I did end up finding some cute stuff though. I’ve still got all our old lab reports from when Rob & I were lab partners in HS chemistry. There’s an Easter egg he dyed for me one Easter. It’s pink with 2 birds kissing on it (one bird has long blond hair).  I found the cutest drawing he did for me in junior year health class. That might actually get framed! It’s pretty funny (and adorable). The room isn’t totally done but significant progress was made.

Saturday, Mom & I went into Philly and ordered dress fabric for the bridesmaids (see previous post). That should be in sometime this week and we’ll go pick it up next weekend. YAY!

Sunday was a delicious BBQ/party at the A’s. The weather was perfect, the food was fantastic and the company was the best. What more could you ask for? I got a new bathing suit just for the occasion which Rob, in his infinite wit, described as “puritanical”. It’s an adorable tankini with a cute little skirt bottom. I like it. Maybe when it gets a bit warmer I’ll break out something a little more revealing.

In an effort to prep for our plethora of sewing projects, we spent today cleaning out the basement. The “family team” really came through this morning/afternoon. Aunt Sarah & Kate skipped Bobby’s soccer match to hang out with us. Poor things ended up getting roped into cleaning. But as they say, “many hands make light work”. Mom, Dad, Rob, Rah, Kate & I were able to just about finish the whole job! Laundry upstairs, recycle was sorted, and trash got bagged up. Dad & Rob took the saws-all to the love-seat and sleeper sofa. After chopping them into manageable pieces we hauled everything up to the garage for trash day. Old blankets were bagged up to be donated to the kennel. The mountain of giveaways going the DAR yard sale just is currently taking up the majority of the den. It feels great to purge unused stuff!! With the horizontal surfaces cleared off, an extra table set-up and everything put away, Sewing Central is on it’s way to being open for business! Stay tuned for more.

Yesterday morning Mom & I took a little drive into Philly to order the bridesmaid dress fabric. All the girls have picked patterns (or at least initial ones to try), so we’ve got the yardage we need. After adding everything up, it looks like we’ll need 25 yards of fabric to make everything. We ordered 30, just to be safe. And the store is bringing in 50 yards, so if we need more they’ll have it and it’ll all be the same dye lot. Since we ordered so much, they knocked $1/yard off the price. YAY! And we ordered 15 yards of the matching rust lining. That’s a lot of fabric.

Of course, when you get me and my mother in a fabric shop, we rarely just leave with what we went in for. I found something amazing for the bridesmaids (but that’s a secret surprise). We also looked for “something bridey” for the mantel and picture ledge in the den. We were planning on just buying some ivory crepe back satin and seeming it down the middle. But the sales lady said, “WAIT! I’ve got just the thing!!” She climbed onto the counter and reached up to the highest shelf in the store. She pulled down an amazing ivory fabric that is 118″ wide!! Usually fabric comes in 45″, 54″ or 60″ widths. This stuff is a double width in the perfect color. We needed less yardage and it’s one less sewing project because now we don’t have to piece it. YAY!

We also walked out of there with 6 yards of a gorgeous bridal illusion tulle. Mom was going to decorate with it but now I think I’m going to snag some of it to makes a veil out of. It’s the perfect width and has a fabulous shimmer to it.

JoAnns is having their Memorial Day sale this weekend, so Mom & I also popped over there. Simplicity patterns were on sale for $0.99. Score! That knocked off about half of the needed patterns. We also found some great fabric to make the mock-up dresses in, for the girls. We’ll make up the pattern they want for a bridesmaid dress in a play fabric first, to make sure they like it. Then, once we’ve got that right, we’ll make the dress in the real stuff. If they decide they don’t like it, then we can pick a different pattern without of wasting any of the good fabric. Mom & I just picked fabric for the girls. We got some options, so hopefully they’ll like something.

This is shaping up to be one full summer of sewing! We’ve got 5 bridesmaids dresses, well, actually 10 because we have to make each one twice (first in the play fabric, then in the good stuff). 3 men’s vest, 2 men’s ties, 1 kids bow tie, and a ring bearer pillow. I’m enlisting volunteers. If anyone would like to come help, please let me know. I promise we’ll make it a good time.

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After 2 years of hearing “have you picked a masters yet?” and “when are you going to start your masters?”, I would like to make one small announcement -

Mom, I am starting my masters.

And she was right. She’s always right. My senior year of college, she bugged me about picking a masters. I said I was going to take a year off and then start one. She kept asking, saying that I should just start one because then it’d be over sooner. Well, a year came and went; still no program. It is now exactly 2 years after graduating from undergrad, we’re in the middle of planning the wedding of our dreams, there are about 8,273 DIY projects lined up for the summer, and I am registered for 2 (not 1 – but 2) summer classes. If I had started the program right after graduation, I would only have a year left in the program. Oh well. According to the catalog, the program will probably take about 3 years to complete (unless I can squeeze in more classes per semester). It is a 42 credit MPA program (Public Administration, with a concentration in Urban Educational Administration & Leadership). Look out Rutgers! I’m gonna rule the world!!

I start my summer classes on May 29th and am actually really nervous. What if I stink at graduate classes? What if they’re really really hard? I’m scared and excited all at the same time. It’s a very weird feeling. Each summer class meets twice a week for 6 weeks (1 class during session 1, the other in session 2). So come August 15th, I’ll be 6 credits closer. Then a couple weeks off until fall classes and recruitment season begins. Then – THE WEDDING!! YAY!!!

So keep your fingers crossed! Thank you family for being so supportive. Rob’s already promised to help me study. And Mom, you were right. I love you.