one month.

I found it a little strange yesterday when I started receiving multiple e-mails from our dessert caterer asking for payment information. We hadn't talked about needing an immediate payment. Nate and I were watching some of my family's old home videos when an e-mail popped up with the subject line: Tomorrow's Sweets. It said, "We cannot deliver tomorrow unless we have a payment."

Hold up. She means tomorrow, with tomorrow being today … June 9! I'm glad I hadn't already given her a payment, or she might have arrived at Immanuel with trays of pastries to find the place locked up. I checked and found I had confirmed at least twice that the date was July 9 before I e-mailed her back and said, Sorry, we aren't getting married until next month! Hopefully the baker didn't spend all day baking for us. Glad we got that sorted out.

Nate's parents are bringing us more decorations from his sister's wedding last month so we are going to have to get super organized so that when family arrives starting on Wednesday that week, we can give them specific things to do. Organized … why am I taking so long at this? I am like the poster child of organization. I took Nate's work tips to the bank yesterday (160 one-dollar bills) and the teller was impressed that Mr. Washington was already facing forward and right side up on every one of them. Anyway, our marriage and family therapist said that when perfectionists feel overwhelmed, they tend to shut down. So I at least I am aware and can try to avoid that in the next month.

This weekend I was sick, so I didn't do much cooking (which I hate because I always feel really bad when I don't have dinner ready even though Nate is always more than happy to pick up a pizza). But I am feeling better! (Though poor Nate is sick too and dragging himself through work this week.) So I made one of my favorite things to make now, slow cooker barbecue beef. So easy and thanks to the manager's special at Kroger, so cheap.

If I can help it, I only buy meat on manager's special because even though the sell by date is approaching, I can usually use it right away or freeze it. I got our beef roast of barbecue beef for half price and I've picked up steaks for fajitas. Also this week on manager's special I got two packages of fresh mushrooms for $1.50 each, and a giant bag of baby carrots for just over a dollar.

(Side note: We love cherries. Do not buy them at Kroger! Kroger's were 3.99/lb and packaged in 3 lb. bags. Aldi has them in 1 lb. bags for 2.99, and they are delicious.) The manager's special will also come in handy when we start grilling. We got a grill yesterday. I mean, UPS brought us a grill. Technically it's a wedding gift that came early and wasn't wrapped. UPS is becoming our best friend because they keep leaving us fun things.

On Monday, we had a drain issue. The shower stopped draining. Completely. I took a shower and no water was going down the pipe. I started wondering if maybe the drain cleaner I used the day before and forgot to flush out had hardened and had already heard from a plumber that it would be $70 just to come look at it. Nate had Monday off so he was awesome and started working on it with a plunger. We worked for a long time. We got some nasty hair and stuff coming up but nothing going down, so we used a shop vac and buckets to get the water out of the tub (and yes, I tossed it out the bathroom window) and finally we found a strategy online to put a wet rag over the overflow hole to increase plunger power and after a lot more work by Nate (who was acquiring blisters by this time) and after praying, whatever was in there cleared and we got a little underwater tornado as the water flowed into the pipes. It was one of the most beautiful sounds I have ever heard.

At work yesterday I moved offices! Jeff did some negotiating when the Spanish curriculum team moved to another floor and an office opened up across the hall from him and Cheryl. So I am now settled in on a hallway full of content editors. And I have learned that no matter where your office is, there is always someone nearby who makes unwelcomed noise. What's so hard about using inside voices and listening to your music through headphones? The world will never know.

But that's about everything that is happening. It's hot here in Nashville. We've been in the 90s (and usually upper 90s) for like two or three weeks straight. Also this weekend is CMA Festival and Bonaroo so our population just increased by 10 percent. I might not be blogging a whole lot in the next month as we're trying to get things going for the wedding. Next Monday my department is throwing a wedding shower for me and Nate. It's Betty Crocker themed and everyone is bringing us their favorite recipes, so I think it will be a lot of fun.