Olympics Countdown and Wedding Planning

London is officially in chaos mode from here on out, today marks 100 days from the opening ceremony for the Olympics. Between my youth portfolio and sports portfolio, let's just say that Olympics programming has kept me plenty busy. I absolutely love my job but I cannot emphasize enough how exhausted I am. Hubby is also very wrapped up in his MBA program. 

Chaos has also spread to our personal lives. We are also counting down: for our long-awaited trip back to the US for the first time since we left for London last summer. 9 days from NEW. YORK. CITY! What will we do in the US, you ask? Oh we have a list READY! Here are some ideas:

• Eating tex mex, with real pico de gallo and chillies 
• Buying everything on the DOLLAR - wooooo
• Eating chocolate chip pancakes, turkey bacon and a side of home fries
• Watching the latest movies in the theater and laughing with the people around me who understand and appreciate the humor
• Drinking in SUNSHINE

As you can see, we have put some thought into this :) But alas that is not the only thing we'll be 

doing in the US. We are having our big wedding reception belatedly with our friends and family. I love explaining to non diplomats the reasoning as to why I'm getting married again...to the same person ha. Truthfully, when I first started planning this reception in the fall, I had NO idea how much of an undertaking I was getting myself into. I do know that this reception will be beautiful and I will love seeing friends and family after a long time, but there are definitely some downsides:

• Planning a reception when you're 5 hours ahead of your venue, vendors, etc.
• Inviting your loved ones/friends scattered all over the world, all the while knowing they won't be able to make it from Bolivia, Bangladesh, China, Gabon, London, etc. (all specifically mentioned lol)
• People canceling last minute and not thinking about giving you more notice (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!!!)
• People NOT responding to your message in a timely fashion. CMON people, get on it!

So here's my PSA: If you are an expat and have a busy work life, I URGE you to get a wedding planner. The amount of energy and time I've spent on this, jeez...