snapshots from home

This has been a lovely weekend.

Drew's brother got married on Saturday, so we had to be at the church at 9:45 am.

Oh, and it was 45 minutes away.

Now, I told that to my sister-in-law in the kind of tone that says poor me, isn't that sooooo early? And this mother or four children simply said, Jess, that's really not that early.

Oh.

But, did I mention it's a Saturday?

And that I work at night generally and so am not used to getting up before 9 am by a long shot, let alone playing and singing a song that is for a sacred ceremony such as a wedding and therefore carries some weight?

Because those are some factors that should be noted.

I was pretty excited because, for the occasion, I bought a dress that I would not have ordinarily bought since it was so bright. I was first drawn to the same dress but in white, but already having worn my white dress to a wedding once and for all, I decided to try on the salmon colored one.

And my friend convinced me to buy it.

And to my delight I realized that I already owned a matching pair of heels.
Like, I said I was at the church at 9:45 and the wedding didn't actually start until 11, so I had some time on my hands. You know, to take pictures of the way my shoes matched my dress.

For documentation purposes.

The groom and his groomsmen walked down the aisle to the Mission Impossible theme song and were all wearing their shades, of course.
Drew played the part well. Naturally.

And today I was all set to go to Cracker Barrel. After all, it does serve the very best french toast I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing. But Drew suggested that we try out this new restaurant near our house instead, The Cereal Bowl.

Honestly, I wasn't psyched about the switch, having already spent some time anticipating the french toast, but figured I'd give it a try. I've always been a cereal girl. Always. Ever since watching Sesame Street's music video, Cereal Girl, a play on words for Madonna's Material Girl, I'd sing along with those lyrics--I said I'd taste it/I'd give it a whirl/And now I am a cereal girl...With the knowledge that it was one of my life's theme songs.

I have a few, you know. Which is fine, by the way.

We walked in and I knew I was at the right place.

Cereal lined the lime green walls.
As did a funky do-it-yourself milk bar.
And not only did they have cereal, they also had every kind of peanut butter imaginable.
And I love peanut butter. On the road, it is one of my cannot-do-without staples.

I deliberated for a while, but after tasting a few, settled on two jars. One chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter, and one Crunchy Munchy peanut butter. I cannot wait to try them out with some honey or some jelly, depending on whether or not I have access to a refrigerator these next few weeks on tour.

We stopped back at my parent's house one last time today.
To grab hold of that illusive marriage license so that I can get my life in order according to the state of Delaware.
This is one of my favorite views of my parent's land. And I love this time of year. The grass is so bright from the rainy springtime season and it seems that every possible thing that can grow does.

You can't really see it here, but in the shady right hand bottom corner is the stream that I spent many an afternoon while growing up. Catching frogs. Looking for snakes. Praying. Singing. Writing. Talking to friends and family. Even camping.

Anyway, I love that stream. Once I caught a baby snapping turtle there. Just had to brag about that. It is my blog after all.

When we walked into my parents' house we said the obligatory hello?!? trying to find out if any family members were hanging around. We heard some scuffling and Strider, my parents' dog came bounding around the corner into the kitchen, face split in a grin, and tail wagging so furiously that his whole body was twitching from the momentum.
Strider has a way of making you get down on the floor with him.
And when his furry paws wrap around you, it's over.
Life is just good. And you can't help but admit it.

And remember that Mt. Fuji size laundry pile I have been successfully ignoring?

Well, we finally got to it today.
And Taliesin might have gotten the worst of it.