Pre-Planning = a good thing (today)

I recently have been realizing how great of a thing it is for me to be doing all of the “pre-planning” that I’ve been doing before getting engaged. All though some days I feel like I'm driving myself crazy and I just need to be more patient...I think it's a good thing!

First, let me define what I’ve been doing…

• Reading blogs like crazy. (and starring the ones I will want to refer to in the future. Oh, how I love my Google reader).
• saving pictures that I come across. (electronically. And then putting them into a photobucket folder and tagging them correctly for categories.)
• making lists of things I want to remember/consider/love
• making a general budget and adjusting (up and down) as I read/see new things
• doing a general “mind dump” and seeing as much as I can see.

I have not been…

• making a list of things I hate (which I recently read is a good idea for working with vendors)
• reading/tearing up/etc magazines (but I wish I had been because I’d like a PHYSICAL book of my desires instead of all electronic. Hmm.)
• calling for quotes
• making actual plans that I have fallen in love with. Yes, there have been ideas that I love, love, love and hope that DB says he loves too and that they become possible. But I have not been saying “I’ve decided on X venue.”
  

Secondly, let me backup and explain the anal way my mind works. I’m one of those people that needs to see ALL of my options before I make a decision about something. This horrible need has become more and more cumbersome as I’ve become an adult. I’m the type that if I need a white v-neck sweater…I go and look at ALL the local stores to see what they have and then make an educated decision. Because otherwise, I know that if I buy the first one that I like, I’ll see another one later and regret buying the first one. The first time I realized that I had a problem with this was when I had to buy a new car. WHAT – I have to pick ONE car out of the thousands of models there are out there?! And let me tell you – it’s REALLY hard to make a spreadsheet of makes/models/prices/amenities involved in cars. It was horrifying. Mind you – I ended up with a great car that I love, but it’s just scary for me when I haven’t seen them all!

Another thing about my crazy head is that it is very linear. I’m a right-brained person who is musical and creative and likes to come up with new ideas, however – I’m also very linear in my thinking. When I look at things I love outlined type flow. For instance…when I’m on a website that I’m interested in – I look at the first link, and then any links off of that page – go back to the original page, look at the second and the following links there, back again, etc. When I find a new blog I like – I have to assess all the old entries that might interest me, and then look at all of their friends list to see if there’s anyone I like on their blog. THIS DRIVES ME INSANE. But I feel like I might be missing out on something completely wonderful if I don’t do it!

I know I sound like a nut job, so I’ll wrap this up. My point is…I’m glad I started doing everything I’ve been doing before even getting engaged because I’m slowing coming to the point where I’m like “I think I’d be fine with my blogroll the way it is without searching out/adding any more. I think I’ve seen enough examples of pomanders to decide on how I’d like them to look if I do them, etc.” DB and I are not expecting to be engaged for very long – around 6-8 months so if I hadn’t started any of this until then, I could very well have ended up in a nut house! I’m glad that I’ve been doing what I’ve been doing in order to have my head a bit more on straight when I do actually have to start making decisions.

Whew!