Finally, it's Friday!

K made it home in the early evening yesterday from his trip to Ohio. I was so happy to have him home. We had a nice dinner at Zax (with a 20% off coupon from my Keep Austin Weird race packet) then spent a relaxing evening at home. At dinner, we had a discussion about my relationship with his parents, my soon to be in-law's. This was brought on by the disapproval that his parents, particularly his dad, has "indirectly" expressed about the fact that we are not getting married in the Church. I can understand their feelings and some of the contributing factors to their interactions (or lack thereof) with me. We value different things. I am a strong, well-educated, successful, professional, kind woman. Those are all qualities that I value in myself. But, those aren't necessarily things that they appreciate - they would much prefer it if I was described as traditional, conservative, and religious. That's not who I am. It worries me in terms of how K and I are going to negotiate holidays and even the wedding events around this. I'm sure they probably hope that I'm going to start popping out babies soon after we get married. Uh-uh, not happening.

Speaking of family, we're going up to Dallas this weekend (after our first long run with the Palo Duro group tomorrow morning) for a couples shower hosted by my cousin (who is one of my bridesmaids) and aunt. I'm really looking forward to the trip and am glad that it's finally here. I appreciate the effort that my cousin has put into pulling this together, and I'm glad that K will get to be a part of it. I know that several of my friends up there won't be able to make it because of other commitments, but K will be able to meet some of my extended family who he hasn't met yet. His cousins are attending as well. We're (well, at least I am) also planning on fitting in a trail run up there on Sunday morning, so it will be interesting to explore a new area.

I'm pretty excited about teaching in the fall (I already have 11 students signed up for the course - with a cap of 15 - so it seems pretty certain that it will make). However, I had a momentary freakout last night as I realized what the next month will entail with the wedding, training, and prepping to teach a class. I know that it will all get done and everything will be fine. It's still just a lot on my plate over the next 6 weeks.