I’m writing this at 5:30 a.m. and everyone must know.
Everyone must know because this is an hour I don’t often see. I’m one of those people who tell myself every night (literally every single night) I’m going to get up at the crack of dawn to tackle the day and I never do. (I get up at 7:30ish which isn’t terrible, but it could be better.)
Except for today. Today I’m up at the crack of dawn because I got shit to do!!! The plane for Austin leaves tomorrow at 8 a.m. and I have more than 24 hours of work to finish before then so I am in scramble mode.
I dropped a few new t-shirts over the weekend. This one might be my favorite yet.
Quick reader poll: was anyone else certain they were bound for the Olympics following the summer of 1996 after practicing the one-leg landing by Keri Strug for hours on end? Not a day goes by that I don’t think about that ’96 gymnastics team. Those were the golden years.
Anyway, Harlow is back at camp while I go to Austin. I’ve had a few people ask what the hell camp means for Harlow and why was he there so long this last time? Let me explain.
Camp for Harlow = spending time with Chris’s parents at their cabin in Nebraska with his crazy lab sidekick, Timber. Chris’s mom might even top me with her level of dog loving so I know he’s happy and well taken care of there. He has free roam of the land to swim after ducks, chase deer, and bark at toads all day.
We drop him off there when we know we’ll be gone for awhile, or more specifically when I’ll be gone because Harlow doesn’t do well being at home for eight hours alone while Chris is at work. I hire dog workers to come by, but in the world of Harlow a 20 minute walk is just a joke to him because he’s a spoiled little SOB.
So yes, even though I know Harlow’s having a blast at camp, it’s still hard as hell to be away from him for a few weeks. The mornings and nights are the hardest. The days aren’t great either.
Which brings me to part two of this post. Harlow and the wedding. From day one Chris and I have said we want Harlow at our wedding. It just wouldn’t feel right without him. I understand most people don’t think weddings are for dogs. That’s fine. We’re not most people and Harlow is not a dog. He’s a Harlow.
But as the date gets closer and the details get finer, the logistics of bringing Harlow keep getting muddier and muddier.
Problem one: the resort where we’re staying won’t allow dogs. This is a big one.
Way around it: Have Harlow stay with our friends who are renting a house in Steamboat, or have Harlow stay with a dog sitter in Steamboat. Both options have been looked into.
Transportation: Getting Harlow to and from the ceremony. Even though I know he’d have a blast at the reception (he’s so social!) he would have to leave right after the ceremony.
Problem 37: We’re leaving for our honeymoon straight from Denver. This means we might be away from Harlow for 3 weeks. I just can’t think about it.
My main concern is being in Steamboat and knowing Harlow is there as well, but not being able to see him . And I know, I know, plenty of people have told me, “you don’t want to have to worry about Harlow on your wedding day.”
But they don’t get it, I worry about Harlow every day. I pretty much plan my life around him. Is that weird? Probably. You can judge. We all have our things, Harlow is mine.
So that’s what I think about roughly 100 times a day right now.
And now I’ve run out of time because I have to pack 50 shirts before my dress fitting this morning… Dress fittings. Woof. And I still haven’t recapped our wonderful couple shower hosted by my parents’ friends this past weekend! So much to say, so little time.
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| WHITE DRESS FOUND HERE. |
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| SHOES. |
Strappy shoes for wide-footed people exist! I found them and they don’t kill. And I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, this white dress is the girliest thing I own and I love it.
If anyone has suggestions on the Harlow debacle, let me know. If I go MIA on here for a bit, you know where to find me snapchatting @thedailytay. I can’t promise it will be pretty, but it will definitely be regrettable.
We are having our dog, Eve there for the whole wedding and reception, likely she will be attached to my hip. Luckily the venue allows dogs. I may get some hate for this, but I ordered a $20 emotional support dog vest on Amazon (not totally far fetched really, I'm nuts) and now she goes everywhere no questions asked.
No hate on the emotional support vest! I did the same thing too! I ordered the emotional support vest for my dog for my wedding because the hotel didn't allow dogs & I knew I needed him to be with me for me to be able to enjoy my day. Totally worked & now we take him everywhere with us as well.
That's a tough call! Why can't all places accept dogs? It's 2016, dammit. Also, where did you decide for your honeymoon? I'm looking into some and am interested where others are going.
I'm a nutso dog lady too, but we didnt have Patton at our wedding – although the main reason was, at the time he was a buck-f***ing-wild 16 month old pup (<– like what i did there?) It's a logistical HASSLE, for sure, but i wish he'd been there! I did manage to get pictures with him in my dress beforehand though 🙂
Awww I'm sorry this is such a logistical mess for you! We had our dog at our wedding without much issue, other than her falling asleep in the middle of the dance floor because she was so exhausted. I completely understand your feelings!
I get you. I HATE going anywhere without Kidd. The first thing I ask when we talk about going somewhere is what about the dog? He usually stays with my parents (who spoil him rotten), but we'll be moving to DC in a few months and its got me stressed out. I'm pretty sure I'll refuse to go anywhere without him because I hate the idea of boarding him. Hopefully we'll find some awesome dog people who won't mind watching him for us every once in a while.
Sarah
The Midwest Darling
Ahh! That's SUCH a hard decision! We had our dog at our reception since they allow them (he chilled in a running car for the ceremony). It seems like either way will be hard, but you don't want to have regrets about your wedding day since so much time is spent planning/thinking/paying. I would try my best to have him there, at the least so he can party at the reception and be in your wedding pictures!
I completely understand being obsessed with a dog. We are ridiculous about ours! Surely the wedding venue would understand having ONE dog at the reception! Also, your snapchats make my day!
I hear ya, our dogs are our kids, people just need to deal with that!!! At our wedding we weren't allowed to have our dog in the church and I cried. So I made our party bus (which was HUGE and barely fit into the condo parking lot) go by our house IMMEDIATELY after the ceremony so we could get pictures and I could see our baby girl. Then at the end of the night my sister's friend was supposed to go over and stay with her all night, I guess she decided she had better things to do and never showed up. It was 3am, we were in our hotel room, I was still in my dress, eating pizza, and was in tears because she had been alone all day… My husband then had to call his mom (yes, at 3am) and had her drive an hour to our house and stay there until we got back the next day.
I totally always pretended I was part of the Magnificent 7! I definitely need that shirt!
XOXO
Melissa 😛
Harlow will be probably be better at camp or at home while the wedding shit goes on because not being around y'all, in a totally new environment and place may make him go looney as well you. Just have a 2nd wedding in Chicago and include him. 😉 I commented on your instagram last night with every last detail of things to eat and do in Austin! Hope you have a blast here!
Not being able to have Judy at our wedding (there was no Bill at the time) was heartbreaking. But like you, there was no feasible way to get her from Hawaii to Pennsylvania to Costa Rica and back to Hawaii affordably. It was all such a damn mess. We paid more for someone to watch her for a month than we did for our honeymoon…! And she probably got the better deal there.
I want to go to Harlow camp.
That dress is lovely! And I love that new tee, haha! Need one!
Ugh, tough choices with Harlow. I have zero suggestions, because I've never had to make a choice like that :/
Have you tried finding a sitter through rover.com? I am a dog sitter through there (my dog Henry is super social and loves having all his dog friends over) and it's nice because they get to still stay in someone's home and usually you can get someone who will send you photo updates every day. (I'm in the Chicago suburbs sooooo if you wanted him to stay hereeee….. )
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