odds and ends

{a glimpse of the projects we've been finishing up for the wedding}

this week feels like 'crunch time' to get the last major things finished before the holidays begin. everyone warned me about the 'waking up in the middle of the night' - and since i normally could sleep through anything, i laughed it off.

until yesterday. i woke up monday morning at 2:30 - and couldn't get back to sleep. not wanting to waste that valuable time...i crossed about a dozen things off the remaining 'to-do' list. by the time liz and i hit the pavement in the north end around 5 a.m., the list was considerably shorter. life was good.

a little random Q&A about the wedding...since it's just one month and nine days away. taken from emails and recent random conversations.

why are you making me go bowling? i don't want to.
well, mom, you're going to have to. :)
with our families, for the most part, being spread out across the northwest and midwest, we wanted something fun for everyone to do the night before the wedding. since the venue for the rehearsal dinner is meaningful to jonathan and me (it's the place of our first date) - but really really small - it can really only hold just the people who are involved in the wedding Mass. we decided to find something more interactive than everyone sitting around tables at a dinner - and the mausski bowling extravaganza was born. we rented out all of chalet bowl in the proctor district, and are hosting a cosmic bowling tournament. everyone in my family gets red glow necklaces, and the sprouffskes get blue glow necklaces...to help everyone recognize who is who. and since everyone pretty much sucks at bowling, it will be perfect.

are you changing your name?
yes. while i will still have mauss in my name at the office, legally, my last name will be changed to sprouffske. there's a new email address and i've already ordered the address embosser for the house in rainier.

and what about shelley mauss photography?
that, too, will be evolving. come 2008, shelley mauss photography will be transitioning to finian road image & design. thanks to my fabulous fiance, my company's already changed from a sole prop to an llc, and i'll be adding a design element to what i do. it's really pretty sweet -- the whole wedding invite thing finally spurred me onto things i'd always wanted to try. i seriously can't wait.

what are you doing with the house?
...in tacoma
getting ready to pack up, move, and put it on the market. thanks to the super fabulous brownrices, the blue room has been moved to rainier. the yellow room is in process, and we'll be a good deal closer after rich, becky, and i make a trip south this afternoon. then it's cleaning, organizing, and unpacking.
...in rainier
helping transition the house to a home again. with jonathan in law school over the last three years (with much of that time spent living in seattle), the house sat empty. we've already replaced all the windows in the house with new vinyl milgard windows (much better for energy consumption and heat) and cut into the main wall in the living room and the kitchen to make the windows more than double their size. the house has an incredible wrap around porch - but the porch prevents a good deal of light from shining in. with the windows enlarged - it's so much brighter. it rocks. also, we're planning to replace the major kitchen appliances soon, and that should hold us over until the spring...when the paint rollers make their arrival.

how are the rsvp's coming?
well, as of yesterday, we'd received 48.21% of them back. thank you to those of you who've sent them in...and if you haven't yet...you have about a week until i send maggie and viper out after you. trust me, they are a force to be reckoned with.

what are you doing for centerpieces?
not quite sure yet. that's one of the last decisions to make.

are you having a guest book?
i was originally planning on having a few albums of our engagement photos for everyone to sign - but realized that the number of guests would have made that a nightmare. inspired by this post on weddingbee, we are opting for a cool well-wish table, with custom little cards for people to complete at their leisure. a few samples are above.

how long is this wedding Mass going to be?
about an hour-ish. there's some really cool things to be included in it - and normal catholic Masses are an hour. this one is no exception. :)

what if i'm not catholic?
no worries. we have a program that's designed to help you understand what's going on - complete with the scripture, prayers, instructions on when to sit, stand, and kneel (which, i understand, can be a little nerve wracking if you're not used to doing it all the time). it also gives a bit of the background into some of the catholic traditions, so it all makes sense.

what are you thankful for?
ahh...a post for tomorrow. i think the prince and i will tag up on that one. :)