Mother's Day...and FMIL's Summer???

Mr. Lab and I went back to his hometown this weekend to celebrate Mother’s Day with his family. I called up my mom to see if she’d like to join us for dinner (my treat!). So she and my younger brother made the 40 min. trek over to FMIL’s house. This was a good thing for 3 reasons: 1. I got to see my mom & brother 2. We could discuss wedding stuff with both mothers present and 3. I didn’t have to go back to my hometown and face possible family drama with my sisters. Win-win-win!

Me & Mama Lab eating at a Mexican restaurant for Mother’s Day 2009! I'm guessing my hair was all messed up because I downed an entire pitcher of strawberry daiquiri almost all by myself?

But I bet you’re wondering what the title of this post is all about. Well, starting next week, I will be spending a little over a month with my FMIL. I landed an internship at a news station in the town she lives in, and rather than find a place to live, she offered to let me stay in Mr. Lab’s bedroom for free. I’m truly grateful because I would not have been able to afford to pay rent back home and an extra rent during the internship. I will be working about 5-8 hours a day at the station and am not sure if I’ll be able to find a job for the month I’m there. Thankfully, my financial aid will take care of essentials like food and gas and rent back home, but that’s all I’ll have for the summer, so money will be very tight.

FSIL, FMIL, and I in St. Petersburg a few years ago.

Luckily, FMIL Lab is like a second mother to me. She and I have always gotten along and call each other periodically to talk and catch up. She lives alone with only her Cocker Spaniel, Tobey, so I know she’ll enjoy the company of a human, haha. Plus, we’ll get to do some serious wedding planning while I’m there!

Me & FSIL in Savannah during one of my wedding planning trips.

After I finish the internship in FMIL’s town, I’ll be off to Savannah for another internship at a station there. I’ll be staying with FSIL and her hubby! I’m so glad that we all get along so well because I will be getting to know them A LOT this summer. FSIL and I have bickered a couple of times in the past, but we both talk it out and are back to normal in less than a day (we have a healthier relationship than my real sisters and I). The best part is that I’ll be living in my wedding city for a month, so I won’t have to worry about traveling the 4 hours to get some essential items on my checklist taken care of!

The only bad part about the internships (other than not making any money) will be being apart from Mr. Lab for over 2 months. We’ve already discussed trips to see each other, but it’s going to be really rough, especially since we’re getting married soon after the summer’s over. I guess we’ll see if that old adage “absences makes the heart grow fonder” is really true, huh?

Could anyone else spend an entire summer with their in-laws without going stark-raving mad?

A Savannah Riverboat Rehearsal Dinner Cruise...and a Ghost Tour?

I've been missing in action for almost a week because I've been completely swamped in school work. I'm in the midst of a bonafide "hell week". When it's all said and done, I will have finished 2 projects, 2 quizzes, a mock show (for my broadcast news program), an online homework, and 2 tests in less than a week! Whew!

So, in the spirit of procrastination, I figured I'd stop in for an update before Grey's Anatomy begins and I must resume the studying. Gotta keep my sanity somehow, right?

My wonderful future sister-in-law came up with an idea for the location of our rehearsal dinner: the Savannah Riverboat! She then proceeded to say things like "But we can look around!" or "You don't have to do this if you don't want to!" But I absolutely love the idea! I assured her that I think this would be the most fun for the wedding party & limited guests (I'm having a very intimate rehearsal dinner of wedding party & immediate family only).

It's even better knowing that I don't have to worry about planning for the dinner. Leslie & her mom (my FMIL) are putting the entire thing together and my FMIL has offered to foot the bill (as is the tradition of the groom's parents). I know I can trust them to put together a fabulous evening!

Photo Sources

We'll do our rehearsal less than a mile away at our actual ceremony square, then we'll probably just walk back to River Street for the dinner cruise. I think we may try to park in a deck halfway between the two locations to split the difference on the walk back to the cars. Parking can be a little crazy in downtown Savannah and moving the cars too much may not be feasible.

After the dinner comes the REALLY fun part. I want to go on a ghost tour after the dinner cruise! I'm hoping that my budget will allow me to treat at least my wedding party to the hearse driving ghost tour, but I may have to do a walking tour instead. I'm still not sure whether I will invite the out of towners along with us (if I could find the correct wording in an invite to indicate that they're welcome but will have to pay their own way, I definitely will). I know that traditional etiquette calls for having OOTs attend the rehearsal dinner, but I'm just not feeling that. I already have a tight budget and don't really want a ton of people seeing me "practice" for the real deal. So in place of invites to the rehearsal dinner, I will make sure to give OOT care packages full of things to do while in Savannah. Hey, it's my wedding and I'll plan how I want to! :)