Wedding Festivus

Post-DADT, I've actually gotten UNSOLICITED information! Yay!! My sister-in-law isn't really a wedding person so she's not having a big ceremony, just a family dinner in mid-June. She actually said "If you can make it" and "it's no big deal." Ma'am! We will be there! First, I'm looking for any excuse to go to Savannah! I mean what I meant to say was we want to help you celebrate! No really. How could we possibly miss that??? Not a chance! She insinuated cooking will be involved so I asked if she wants me to cook anything. She said probably and she'll let me know. I was like, "Cool!" Then I remembered Christmas 2010 and this past Thanksgiving where SIL and MIL both forgot the things I asked them to help with... and I whimpered a little. I'm not gonna know even a category to cook or bake in until the day before am I? DADT shall not reign here! I will ask again in a month. (It will torture me to wait that long.)

I immediately wanted to do something impressive since I will likely only be responsible for one thing versus the spread I try to do at holidays. My first thought? CROQUEMBOUCHE!! It took me hours to remember she's a vegan and that recipe calls for eggs, butter AND milk. :( It would be perfect for a wedding AND perfect for an occasion such as this where I can dedicate hours (4) of intricate work to one dish. I WILL make that one day. That day will likely not be in June. I have a few vegan recipes saved up but if you see something, shout me a holler, please.

SIL also added, "No, I'm not pregnant." Ugh. That again (number 7) (really pick just about any post leading up to our wedding)? We still haven't stopped asking women if they're pregnant (at any occasion where she's not crowning)? Please let grown people get married in less than 6 months without asking them if they're pregnant. Please! You know wedding planning doesn't HAVE to take 3 years, right? It CAN but it's not a necessity.

My mom loves adopting families. Her being from Mississippi but making a home in North Carolina means she got her family fix when and where she could. That didn't mean traipsing into the deep south multiple times per year. When we were growing up, there were always multiple families inviting us to birthdays, cookouts, holidays, you name it! If there was a cause to celebrate, adopted Aunt Ellen is there, kids in tow. Thanksgiving we house hopped and it was AWESOME! I hated turkey growing up (dry) so the thought of having one in the house for days and days after the holiday was beyond repugnant to me. House hopping eliminated that. Our adopted families all wanted us there so we would hit one house, eat, hang out, rinse and repeat at least two times. A.MA.ZING!! And the best part? To-go plates were insisted upon and of course only consisted of the best of the best! No taking home the gross, dried out anything! Only all-star leftovers!

My parents have been divorced over a decade but my mom still attends at least twice as many family functions on my dad's side as my dad. Part of this is because he's extraordinarily far from his own family. He's in Pittsburgh, the majority of them are in Charlotte. He also has a lot of female nieces with a string of women-centric events (baby & bridal showers) to which he wouldn't be invited anyway!

If there's a family, my mom is IN THERE. Seeing facebook pictures of everyone makes her feel like a part of my new family as well. So of course when I tell her about SIL's dinner my mom says, "I wanna go!" And so you shall! Roll out!

And one last bit of DADT news: Rashan does have a little history of breaking DADT. This 16-year family tradition was thrown out 2 weeks after we started dating. He told his family about me and asked them if they would like to meet me! This despite over a decade of dating lesser women (LOL) with his family none the wiser. He didn't know why he was breaking DADT but he did. Awwww! :)