Missing you... :(

Dear friends,

I know I've been horrible at keeping in touch but now that I've finally managed to start a blog, I'll hopefully be able to communicate with you much better!

Quick summary of what I've been doing the past nearly 7 weeks.

December:
15 - left UK am, arrived US pm, attended church event in evening
16 - sister arrived from Dallas, Texas
17 - church am, meet Peter's brother's family pm, church pastoral staff Christmas party at our house
18 - buy mobile phone, buy wedding dress!!! oh my gosh!!! made things so real! i was afraid to look at myself in the mirror!
20-23 - church Youth Fasting Leaders' Winter Retreat
24 - church, last minute shopping!
25 - Christmas Day, lunch with Peter's parents, dinner party at our house
26-29 church main Youth Winter Retreat (151 + me & Peter under Peter's care!)
31 - church am, dad arrived from Seoul, S Korea pm, New Years' Eve service @ 23:00

January:
01 - Peter proposed!!! :) New Years' Day, brunch with our family followed by the bowing, pm @ Peter's parents
04 - pre-marital counselling!!!
06 - Engagement Party!!!
07 - sis flew back to Dallas, parents went to Las Vegas for the International CES Exhibition (ended up buying two LCD very nice telis, one for me & Peter!)
08 - bro's 16th birthday
11 - parents arrived back from Las Vegas with my mum's older sister recovering from chemo, jetlag and a cold
13 - dad flew back to Seoul
15 - Martin Luther King Jr's Birthday is actually a national holiday! (last day for most students to study for their "finals")
16 - attended first meeting as a Saturday Korean School teacher (mum's the headmistress and someone pulled out last minute so...)
18 - Youth group meeting at our house pm, bro's 16th birthday sleepover party from 18:00
19 - brekkie for bro's friends, no school
20 - first day of Spring Term at Saturday Korean School, first day as Korean School teacher! the bloke that had to pull out last minute was with me though - thank goodness!
22 - shopping for flooring, granite, etc as we're "remodelling" Peter's kitchen
23 - lunch, dinner & long chats with Auntie, first day I actually had the chance to sit down and do some wedding planning!
24 - Auntie, feeling much better, went back to LA to be with her daughter and her 3 grandsons before flying back to Seoul, burst into tears in the evening 'cause I was missing all of you so much and couldn't hold it in any longer!!! also because I was getting very stressed out with the wedding planning and I was really sad 'cause it's supposed to such an exciting girly time and I'm severly lacking in girly companionship and close friends over here at the mo so it just made me miss all of you even more... :(
25 - got my mum's dishwasher fixed (it's been broken for about 18 months!)
27 - first day alone as a Korean School teacher - eek!
29 - decided on flowers for wedding day, looked at one possible wedding photographer (def no) and possible wedding cakes
31 - received lasik eye surgery consultation, interviewed possible part-time minister / pastor / helper for Peter for the Youth Group at church

I've also been down with bad cases of the flu twice and Peter's been ill twice too which slowed us down considerably. Peter's actually still recovering and I think I'm falling ill again!

I still have a million and one things to do - lasik eye surgery, California Driver License theory & practical tests, prepare for Korean School every Saturday (no simple task!), sort out Engagement photos, write Engagement pressie thank-you cards, find a DJ and MC, meet two other possible wedding photographers, meet videographer, sort out Peter's kitchen and bathrooms, choose food for evening reception, seating arrangements, everybody's clothing (apart from my dress) for the big day, make & write invitations, finalise guest list for both families first!, think of a birthday present for Peter's birthday in less than two weeks, organise other bro's birthday party next week, sort out wedding cakes, get a medical done to submit with wedding papers, complete wedding forms and send off well in advance of wedding, etc etc. The challenge will be trying to get everything done while trying not to fall ill again and / or become majorly stressed!

I'm really glad I've finally written this first entry in my new blog today. It's something I've really wanted to do for a long time now but haven't had the chance to do as I've had to fire-fight for the past 7 weeks. It actually took me over 4 weeks to unpack! Things have calmed down a bit now and I'm more in control so hopefully I'll be able to do more of the things I WANT to do as well as the things I HAVE to do.

I miss you all sooooooooooooooooo much!!!

I'll tell you more about how things are going in my next posting...

Good night! :)
Jenny xxx