23 Days!

It doesn't seem possible, but my best friend is getting married in 23 days. As in, a little over three weeks.

It feels like yesterday that we celebrated her engagement with a surprise party in our hometown, but it was actually a year and a half ago. Time flies when you're so busy you can barely breathe.

Speaking of time flying, her bridal shower was at the end of July...and I still haven't blogged about it. Forgive me, blog gods, for I have sinned.

The bridal shower, which was hosted by her mom, sister, and aunt, was absolutely perfect. They rented out a beautiful community space at her aunt's apartment complex and transformed it into girly, bridal shower heaven. Balloons, pictures, a mimosa bar, more food than you can imagine, the works.

I felt particularly special because I had the distinct honor of delivering the woman of the hour to her own party. We played games, including a hilarious one where we wrote a story about Jenn and Paul with each guest adding a sentence after only reading the one immediately preceding theirs. We ate tons of food - I set up shop near the brownies and lemon bars. Jenn opened gifts, which included, but was not limited to, a whip and handcuffs from her future mother-in-law. It was a blast.

At this point, Jenn's family has basically become mine, so it was wonderful to catch up with them and celebrate one of our favorite people together. Several of our college housemates were there, as well as a couple dear friends from high school, and I left wondering why there aren't more perfect opportunities to gather all your close friends together and party in the middle of a Sunday afternoon. Oh, and my precious niece was there, so it was a real party.

Am I the only one that thinks Jenn looked gorgeous enough in that white dress that it could pass as her actual wedding dress? I can't wait to share pictures of her in the real thing because it's AH-MAZ-ING.

Life keeps moving.

While I've been taking an eternity to finish blogging about our honeymoon, lots (and lots! and lots!) of other awesome things have been happening around us. In fact, I get kinda overwhelmed when I think about all the things I've neglected to share on this blog lately. Between my best friend's bridal shower and bachelorette weekend, concerts galore, visits with family and friends, the Summer Olympics, my high school ten-year reunion, HBO's The Night Of, and random events and festivals, I feel like I've been drowning in a pool of busy happiness. That's not the worst thing, right?

Several of the aforementioned things deserve their own posts, so bear with me on those. For now, here's a quick rundown of some of the cool, but concise things that are hanging out in my memory and phone:

- My mom's cancer is in check and maybe, just maybe, even nonexistent? I'm not sure if I even shared this, but we found out that my mom's cancer was back in a couple spots in January. Her oncologist switched up her chemo drugs and since then, she's had two scans confirming that the spots were shrinking. She had her latest one a couple weeks ago and the news was excellent. The spots were so tiny that the technician who read the scan called them "insignificant." Needless to say, we are beyond thrilled with the news and relieved to see that her weekly chemo regiment is doing its job.

- My sister came to town. I miss her even more than I miss The Walking Dead (hint: that's a lot), so I always try to soak up as much time with her as I can when she's back home. We did a pretty awesome job during her last visit. We hit up our quaint, little hometown's monthly summer block party, enjoyed a bonfire at my brother's house, and went canoeing on the Little Miami River, where I was thoroughly disgusted that I was sharing the same water with fish like the one pictured below. She and my mom also came to visit us in Indy and we spent the night eating, laughing, and marveling over the ridiculous amount of people playing PokemonGo on the canal.

-  Wheat got us free tickets to check out Toruk - The First Flight, the Cirque du Soleil show based on Avatar. Though the show was way more plot-driven and featured fewer acrobatics than other Cirque shows I've seen, I was absolutely blown away by the spectacular, intricate set, which included mountains, valleys, rivers, waterfalls, and trees. The story itself was just okay and I didn't feel very emotionally invested in its outcome, but it was definitely an entertaining date night and I had a child-like freakout when the narrator came near us. Can I please be Na'vi for a day?

- As part of the IndyFringe Festival (a 10-day theater festival on Mass Ave), we bought tickets for an absolutely hilarious Jurassic Park parody called Hold On to Your Butts. Pictures weren't allowed and I don't think I can accurately describe it, but it was basically a live, shot-for-shot remake of the movie done by two actors, a foley artist, and some props. I'm a huge fan of the movie, so I found the jokes where they strayed from the original script or exaggerated certain aspects of the original hilarious (ex. pulling their shorts up and showing lots of man thigh when portraying Muldoon, the British game warden who says, "Clever girl"). I really can't describe it - I mean, they became the T-Rex by strapping a traffic cone to their back - but it was amazing.

- We also made our annual trek to the Indiana State Fair. This year, we got in for free, thanks to our AAA membership. What does that mean? More money to spend on fair food, of course. We rode the ferris wheel, ate buttery corn on the cob, admired a sculpture carved out of cheese, and left with a birthday cake funnel cake and some cherry limeade in tow. I'm glad this thing only happens once a year.

We also saw the Indians take on the Norfolk Tides, screamed while Michael Phelps won all the medals, enjoyed an outdoor stage production of Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale at White River State Park, took a dip in our apartment complex's pool, fell in love with Simone Biles and all the girls, and laughed at all the drama on Bachelor in Paradise.

I'm pumped for fall, but clearly, this summer has treated me nicely. Slow down, Father Time.

The Highly Specific Dos and Don'ts of a European Honeymoon

Not that anyone has asked me for advice on European travel (there are FAR better sources for that), but I've decided to share some, anyway. Ever since our trip ended, I've been thinking about the things we did right, the things we did wrong, and the things that worked out perfectly even though we didn't plan them at all. It's amazing how that works sometimes.

Please enjoy my highly specific advice on honeymooning in London/Amsterdam/Munich:

DON'T ask a stranger to take your picture using your "fancy" camera. Chances are they can barely handle doing it with a cell phone camera.

DO take the time to watch the Game of Thrones season finale on an illegal streaming website. You know it's going to be spoiled for you if you don't.

DON'T go inside the cute London telephone booths. Since pay phones aren't a thing anymore, they've become urinals for homeless people.

DO eat dinner before boarding an overnight train. You might think there will be a fun trolley cart of food passing by (Harry Potter-style), but you're wrong. You're gonna be stuck with a cold hot dog for dinner.

DON'T think you can just show up at a local bar and find a seat while England is playing in an international soccer tournament. You're sadly mistaken.

DO keep an eye out for hilarious artwork. Thank you, tiny Donald Trump look-a-like. You're amazing.

DON'T plug a surge protector into a travel adapter then into the wall. The hotel owner will have to come in on his day off to reset the fuse. Oops.

DO put a protective cover on your camera lens. Trust me.

DON'T tell the customs worker that you chose Munich as a honeymoon destination because you've "always wanted to go to a concentration camp." You'll get some horrible looks.

DO order dessert. You've walked all day, so the calories don't count.

DON'T look for too long at the naked sunbathers at Englischer Garten. They're 60-something-year-old men...unless you're into that kind of thing.

DO look both ways when crossing the street in Amsterdam. While you're at it, do a full 360º because there's undoubtedly a biker headed straight at you.

DON'T stay at Hotel La Boheme in Amsterdam if you have a cat allergy.

DO buy guidebooks from Rick Steves. The man is a saint and I'd really love to be his apprentice.

DON'T lean on the wall at Nymphenburg Palace...unless you like being scolded like a toddler.

DO wander around aimlessly. You might get lost, but you might also run into the Dutch Wayne Newton.

DON'T let the rain hold you back...because that might prevent you from doing anything.

DO keep your eyes peeled because your flight attendants might be staying in the same hotel as you. You also might run into them 20 times before you leave.

DO have the time of your life. You're super lucky to be experiencing the world with the love of your life, so cherish those memories.

Oh, and if you missed out on any of the fun, here are some links:

London: 1, 2, 3, and 4

Amsterdam: 1, 2, and 3

Munich: 1, 2, and 3

Boston: 1 and 2

UPDATE: Wheat made the most incredible video of our honeymoon. Check it out!