This news was a huge relief. The fluid in his lungs can now be drained without open-chest surgery; they think the fluid is there because of a broken blister.

The prognosis is now fairly good. Granted, he'll still be in some sort of care for the next year or so but at least he'll be out of the ICU in about a month.

Thank you, Alice, for your kind words. They meant so much.

I can tell this weekend is going to be extremely mellow. It's rainy today and I'm still feeling under the weather. This sore throat is irritating. Plus, I've been on the internet for several hours looking for a wedding dress.

This is majorly draining, to say the least. Looking at wedding dresses just makes me angry. Why? Because the dresses are hideous! 95% of the wedding dresses I've seen are pathetic. I want to know who in their right mind would choose to wear these.

I don't want anything shiny. I don't want complicated beading on the bodice. I don't want to wear white. I don't want strapless or spaghetti straps or halter necklines.

I want a champagne colored sheath gown with a drape/cowl neckline, front and back... in a tasteful, drapey material like silk chiffon or silk gabardine. No satin, please!

Sad fact: A couple weeks ago, I found the dress of my dreams on the internet. It's made by Selia Yang, a New York City designer. I contacted the designer directly to ask about the dress. Her reply was that the dress is custom-made (I send them my measurements, then they ship it to me when complete) with 3 layers of silk chiffon plus a silk lining... for $3,500. I am so disappointed!

Hence, my extensive internet search. I'm actually finding myself relating more to the bridesmaid dresses, believe it or not. Some of those actually have some style. But the saddest thing is I know I'm going to be charged an arm and a leg for a bridesmaid gown, and that is unacceptable.

The whole wedding industry is a sham.

So, I started looking for evening gowns. I actually found a great one on bluefly, but it only came in black. Dammit!

Disgruntled, I even called a few bridal salons here in San Francisco to see what their hours were. I figured I'd saunter over there and peruse the racks. Apparently, they don't allow such a thing. They require appointments! Now, I feel funny about making an appointment because I have a feeling I'm not going to like much of what they carry. I just want to get an idea of pricing, etc. Of course, they asked my wedding date and when I told them October, they freaked out. "Oh, you need to come in here ASAP! It takes 6 months to order a gown."

Is it just me or is 6 months turnaround time totally unreasonable? I explained that my goal was to buy something off the rack, anyway (because I've been reading in a number of books that bridal salons rip off brides-to-be and bridesmaids-to-be by ordering 2 or 3 sizes above what they really need so that they are required to spend even more money in their shop with expensive alterations).

Yes, I'm very disturbed about this whole dress thing. Rant over.

The house is still in shambles. While M went to visit E last night in the hospital, I unloaded a couple boxes and organized the pantry. There is still much to be done, yet I feel like I've been run over by a truck... and I haven't even exercised in a couple weeks. What's the deal with that?! Oh, and I'm gaining weight. I know this because the scale tells me so. I'm hoping it's because I gained some muscle during the grueling move last weekend. ;) Otherwise, I must get strict.

The sauvignon cake dessert during lunch didn't help, either. I've got to focus.