I just cut my wedding invitations with nail clippers and other stories...

I can't stop laughing.

I go from moments of having a nervous breakdown - crying uncontrollably to moments of laughing so hard that my stomach hurts.

It really is funny being la sposa.

Yes, as the title goes, I really did just complete cutting my wedding invitations with Mimmo's nail scissors. I got the reception invitations with the couple dancing the tarantella, but they didn't fit inside our main invitation. So, I've been really busy and I knew tonight I would have the time to cut the invitations. I talked to Jill as I did this, laughing at the appropriateness of the situation. I was telling Jill, "You know how in America, you can go to Kinko's at like any hour and they have one of those paper cutters? Those don't exist here.," I asked Mimmo tonight if when he stopped by his mom's, he could get some scissors from her. (Also, in Italy, everything is closed on a Sunday, so there was no option to buy some). Mimmo returned with a pair of very old scissors that were so loose, I couldn't cut straight. So I went to the bathroom and grabbed the teeny tiny nail scissors and just went to work. "Jill, can you believe I am cutting our invitations with nail scissors right now? I mean," I laughed "they're a bit crooked I think and this is gonna take me forever.," She laughed with me and said "It's totally appropriate. You're always gonna remember doing this."

Another thing I will always remember is my last nervous sposa breakdown which was 2 days ago in the middle of Naples. I went to pick up my veil and the women wouldn't let me try on my dress to see it all together. "We're *really* busy right now," she told me as she shoo-ed me out the door. It sucks in Italy because everything closes down in August, and in Naples, Friday was the last day that a lot of the shops were open before they closed to go on vacation for the rest of the month. So, as one might imagine, the shop people weren't in the best mood, trying to get as much done before they left on vacation. But, it was also really stressful for me to be dealing with them on this day as I was trying to get all the things I needed done before September. I left the veil shop and just burst into tears. I was in the middle of Naples on a busy street and this Signora came up to me and also an African woman very concerned. "What's wrong?," they asked. "Did someone steal something from you?," asked the Signora. I couldn't speak as I was in that tears/hyperventilating stage. The African woman hugged me. I heard the Signora whisper to her "Is she your friend?," and the African woman whispered back "No, I don't know her...?!" I just couldn't stop crying. The African woman gave me a tissue and said "Don't think bad thoughts,". The Signora said "You're young and you're beautiful,". I kept crying. I couldn't stop and people were looking at me. The Signora asked "What is it?,". I tried to talk through my embarrassing array of tears "I'm getting married..." She interrupted me and whispered low for dramatic effect "Oh, and, you've seperated?!" "No..." I knew I couldn't explain and I also knew that I just needed to cry. The African woman gave me a package of tissues and they both tried to say comforting things before they left me on my way. I called Mimmo immediately after and he kept trying to tell me to try not to stress myself out, that he was with me, that everything would be ok, etc. When I told him what just happened, I had to laugh at the scenario. "Only in Naples," he said.

Ok, I gotta get off this thing and on to bed. I talked to Leila tonight which was SO great!!! Yay!

Tomorrow, it's on to more invitation printing (yes, they're all cut now :-) and looking at gluten-free wedding cakes :-)

Yeeeeeehhhhhhhhhaaaaaaa.....

Buona notte, tutti. xo