Chris and I are spending this week in St. Johnsbury, Vermont. I am attending the AP Institute to earn my Collegeboard AP Literature training (and earn re-licensing credits), held at the St. Johnsbury Academy campus.

SJA is one of the foremost private boarding academy high schools in New England, and costs nearly $40,000/year for a boarding student. It's a darn steep price for students, but the accommodations are lush for the conference. We've been treated, in particular, to the best food I've ever been able to eat for free*. We had ostrich and bananas foster for lunch, yum.

Chris took his vacation from work this week, and he has spent the days drawing by the pool and cartooning in the hotel. I've spent eight hours each day in a dynamic, very helpful course. We're both in heaven, and it is GREAT.

Also, the Institute gave us nearly $500 in free books. Of course, the publishers hope we will, in turn, buy classroom sets... but I adore pre-press copies and old classics.

*We are paying a mere pittance for our hotel room (discounted conference rate), and everything else has been paid by my school district. It is a nice perk! They lead free nightly activities (canoeing, theatre trips, skeet shooting, trivia bowls, hiking, poetry readings, etc) for participants and their families, too.

Suffice to say, the wedding planning has not been at the front of my mind :) I will provide photos of some of our new purchases and planning details once we get home. Promise!

I've been asked by a few family members and friends to post Registry information on our wedding blog. I've been hesitant to post this information, but I've had a few more questions since the invitations were mailed and I thought I'd finally acquiesce.

Chris and I just got back from the Stanford B&B in Enfield, NH. The owner of the B&B is a co-worker of mine, and they have a wonderful cabin on Crystal Lake*. I won a discounted night in our annual Christmas Silent Auction, and knew we'd love a night away.

Chris got out of work two hours early, we drove just twenty minutes, and celebrated the 4th of July weekend with a canoe and a campfire.


I had never been in a canoe before (I'm such a City girl) but it was amazing fun. I've kayaked around before, but I had a lot of fun rowing a canoe. And so did Chris! I have photographic evidence...


Isn't he handsome?

** See a comic about our trip over at Flamejob.

We've bought our tickets for Greece!


Our flights are already 1/2 booked for economy, can you believe it? Ten months in advance. I'm hoping that if I can find some sappy "His & Hers" luggage tags, I can wiggle an upgrade into business class.

We'll be flying American Airlines from Boston to Heathrow, and then Heathrow to Athens.

Our honeymoon is now 2/3 paid in advance, and I am so thankful! Penny-pinching (and interest bearing accounts) do pay off. :)

I did get "trip protection," just in case the ticket price drops significantly. I'll be eligible to receive a portion back. I did get a pretty good rate, though.

Also, Chris wants to stay in this hotel on our last night: the Hotel Central. It is in the Plaka section of Athens, and has a hip rooftop terrace bar and jacuzzi.

the invitations are actually in the mail. Phew!

It took a far bit longer than I expected.
You see, the USPS stopped hand-canceling any first-class envelopes.


When mail is not hand-canceled, each envelope is run through a machine.

If the envelope
1) is too bulky
2) is not acceptably flexible
3) has too little postage, even by one cent

then the envelope may be
1) shredded by accident
2) accidentally opened/compromised
3) stamped with "return to sender"

*sigh*

I've had nightmares of our lovely invitations--the invitations created during a fun family party and entirely hand-crafted--would be destroyed by the USPS.

I admit, the invitation-anxiety is entirely linked to the phenomena known as "being a Bridezilla." I refused to accept that the local post offices refused to hand-cancel my invitations. I have friends in PA who have had their invitations hand-canceled this year. I have an acquaintance who was allowed to hand-cancel her own invitations, under the supervision of the Post Master, because the Post Master acknowledged the only reason the USPS stopped hand-canceling was due to the time it takes to apply each stamp.

Finally, I've decided to live "dangerously," as our local Postwoman said, and just drop the darn things into the regular mail. Some may have even arrived today. I sincerely hope none arrive looking as if a puppy played with them.

***Incidentally, "Bridezilla" is my most favorite portmanteau word: bride + Godzilla. It is memorable for my students, fun to say, and has delightfully satiric connotations.

Christopher is clever. (This is not a surprise!)
He is also quite web-savvy, and he was getting sick of typing our long blogger account name :)

He just bought (for a pittance) www.TheWarrenWedding.com

If you type www.TheWarrenWedding.com into your browser, it will instantly re-direct you to this website.

Please do not feel you need to update your bookmarks!

It just made it easier to put the wedding blog url on our invitations.

* * *

Speaking of invitations, we are FINALLY ready to mail them out. They will be mailed on Monday. We were waiting on the rest of the calligraphy, one insert, and our custom stamps.

* * *

How excited are we? We will be driving to Massachusetts on Saturday morning to attend Christopher's Grammie and Grampie Warren's 50th Wedding Anniversary party! We'll get to visit with the couple, the whole family, and have a weekend out.

It is very comforting to know a couple who have been together for fifty blessed years, and to know their wonderful (and pretty darn hilarious) family. Their eldest grandson turned out okay, I guess. :)

We've booked our honeymoon rental!

We will spend seven nights/eight days in Nafplion, Greece! We will travel during April, 2010.

The most costly component of the trip will be our plane tickets, but prices (at the moment) for April, 2010 are around $800 for a round trip flight. Considering what international tickets could cost, this is do-able. We're still waiting, though, to see if the flights dip even lower. I've taken a second-job/summer job to, in part, pay for our honeymoon. Work hard, play harder!



Nafplion was initially suggested by a childhood friend of mine from Masterman, Christos. I asked him, "Can you think of a town on the water within driving distance of Athens with only a small tourist population in the Spring? Can it be a spot the Greeks use for vacation, and not drunken French frat boys? Can it be large enough to have at least one vegetarian restaurant still open in the off-season, but not teeming with trinket shops along the beach?" He suggested Nafplion, his family's favorite vacation spot.

Nafplion was the first capitol of Greece. The small Peloponnesian port town is in the shadow of the Palamidi Fortress, a 999 step bohemouth built by the Venetians in 1714.

From our vacation rental's website:
Its long history is evident in attractive period buildings, narrow bougainvillea-filled streets, and a wide range of shops, tavernas and museums. It is perfect for those who want both a beach and historical holiday. The apartment is in a quiet part of the old town, yet very close to all the amenities.

Nafplion is also known for the Bourtzi, a fortified islet just off shore. It was originally built to protect the town from pirates, but it now is simply a lovely site for photography.


We will be staying on a small side street in an apartment owned by a British ex-Pat poet, Margaret. Margaret hosts poetry workshops at her home throughout the year, but also rents the home to vacationers during the Spring and Summer. The apartment is extrememly affordable! (Seriously, less than $50 per day) She will be living upstairs while we are visiting so we will have an English/Greek translator and a poet tour guide.


The apartment has a full kitchen, stocked with a stove, large fridge, pots, pans, dishes, a small laundry machine, and an enormous bookcase. We will be cooking at least two meals each day to save on costs and save Christopher's vegetarian stomach... and the apartment is down the street from a large market. There is a full bedroom and full bath, as well as a sitting room, an outdoor furnished porch, and "under terrace" parking.

Nafplion is a two-hour drive from Athens. According to a tourist site,

"It is also your ideal home base for day trips to the ancient sites at Argos, Nemea, Mycenae, Tiryns, Epidavros (the ancient theater is a must-see!), and Ancient Corinth."

Chris and I haven't decided what historical locations we'd like to visit, but it is nice to be staying near historical sites without staying in busy, zooming Athens.

He wanted to stay in a very rural small village, but I was worried we wouldn't be able to find 1)vegetarian-friendly restuarants 2)air-conditioning 3)doctors. Hopefully, Napfplion will be a nice compromise.

Also! Chris and I are being measured for our wedding bands tomorrow.