have kindly sponsored

If my parents plan on changing their minds again they will have a difficult time of it. Gareth and I have ordered our invitations. Because we decided on the place so late, I had to put a rush job on the invitations. They should arrive some time this week and then off to my mother's house where they will be addressed in her gorgeous calligraphy handwriting. They are beautiful, elegant, and the only part of the wedding, besides the groom, that comes from the UK.

I heard through the grapevine that the invitations were not the only item ordered this week. Apparently, my sister has ordered her dress. She is the Maid of Honour so she does not have to order the same dress as the bridesmaids. All she has to do is find a dress in the same colour - which is periwinkle, not the easiest to find - a sort of a mix between purple and blue. When I spoke with her last week, she was planning on meeting with the bridesmaids to try on dresses this weekend.

Originally I was going to have the girls get their dresses made by a seamstress. It would have cost the same and then we could have bought a fabric and had everyone pick out a pattern they liked. Unfortunately, because I am over here, organising it was near impossible. And in the end, my bridesmaids did not seem to mind either way. I'm real curious to see what they ended up with. I looked at dresses when I was at home with my sister, but we hadn't settled on a style.

Meanwhile, I do actually spend time contemplating life outside the wedding. This week I will be attending my first interview for a teaching job. The position would start this autumn. Teachers all apply for jobs well before they start. A lot of students on my course took jobs with the schools they were placed with for their training.

Even if I don't get the job, I'm still really pleased since I've been shortlisted with the first application I've sent out. Unfortunately, it is also the only application I've sent out. The interview is this Tuesday so I may find myself employed before the week is through.

24 May 2000

Stacie Lewis