News and a Wedding

So much going on I don't know where to start!  First, ANNOUNCEMENT TIME!  That other thing I was waiting to tell you once it was all official?  Here it is.  This fall I'm going to Georgetown University to work on an M.A. in English!  I'm really happy with this decision.  I can't wait to jump back into the field, more so than before, and to really buckle down into textual studies.  Georgetown is affiliated with the Folger, too, so I'm hoping to get to really examine some of these materials up close and personal.

This past weekend I attended a beautiful wedding.  My friends Mike and Morgan tied the knot!  They had a gorgeous ceremony and reception at a 19th-century manor house.  The weather was blessedly cool, though a bit rainy, so the instead of being married in the rose garden they were married on the porch overlooking the rose garden.  Morgan rode to the wedding in a horse-drawn carriage, they had prepared readings on love from Shakespeare and Rumi, they had a unity spice ceremony that I just loved, and their officiant-- a friend from college-- gave a stunning blessing to the marriage.  Then the reception!  Zan and most of my other friends in attendance were in the wedding party so they spent most of the cocktail hour having pictures taken, while my friend Carrie and I partook of Mike and Morgan's signature drink.  For dinner we were seated at the "Romeo and Juliet" table, and afterwards we danced!  I'm sure I looked silly because I'm such a terrible dancer (my friends all make fun of my lack of rhythm) but I had so much fun.  I ended up having a much larger group of friends there than I had anticipated, and I met some new friends/people I had heard of but never met, which made for some great dance-times.  Then Mike and Morgan were sent off in style with sparklers!  I also just realized I have no pictures... hmm...

Then, today was my first day at my new job!  I'm not interpreting just yet, but today I had my costume fitting!  I can't wait to get back into my shifts, petticoats, and jumps (sort of like stays).  Plus, I think my shoes this summer are going to legitimately be very comfortable.  I'm excited.  The bulk of the day was spent reading up on materials about the kitchens and food in 18th-century Virginia, with a few sporadic duties included, such as cleaning buckets and setting up/putting away the display foods.  I'm so excited for this summer.  I think this will be a lot of fun.  I plan to have a very large dinner party once I've mastered some of these 18th century dishes.

Things certainly are exciting around here all of a sudden!  I have this stirring feeling that things are looking up.  I feel like I've turned a corner, both in terms of future plans and also my general life outlook.  I think/hope/wish that maybe 2013 will turn into a wonderful year, after all.