Adam and Hannah had their wedding this past Saturday -- Congratulations guys!! I'll do a separate post on the wedding activities :)

And now, on to the rant section of the story.... (in honor of you, Adam, and spamandcheese).  Last Friday is henceforth known as "A Series of Unfortunate Events."  It was like living out a bad Ben Stiller comedy, where one thing after another kept happening, and from an outside perspective, it would have been funny, but notsomuch to us.

We planned to leave at 2:00ish to get to Raleigh around 5:00, check in, get changed & freshened up, and be at the rehearsal dinner at 7:00 sharp.  I was cutting it close with packing and all the preparations for leaving, but nothing too bad.  Here are the series of rather unfortunate events that led to us being late and quite irritated:

• Jackson's blowout -- He had quite a #2 in his diaper that was not contained effectively, and resulted in an impromptu bath.  Lost time -- 15 min.  Irritation factor -- minor (he's too cute to make me mad!)
• Highlander Tires -- Josh took his car at about 1:15 to go check the tires, etc.  He discovered a leak or something in one of them, so he took it to the dealership.  They said it wasn't repairable, and needed to be replaced.  Trouble is, our spare (a regular tire) has the same problem (they had patched it, but the Toyota guy says they shouldn't have, and it also needs to be replaced).  Ok, so we at least need 1 new tire.  Except that the tires aren't carried in stock by anybody in Gastonia, and would have to be special ordered.  Nice.  Lost time -- 1 hour.  Irritation factor -- major.
• Altima Tire -- So after the Highlander was rendered un-driveable, we decided to take my car instead.  So Josh took it out to check everything out.  And discovered a leak in one of my tires.  So he took it to a tire place, and they were able to patch it for the short-term, but recommended 2 new tires as well.  That also need to be ordered.  Lost time -- 30 min.  Irritation factor -- medium.
• Altima Gas -- Since we weren't planning on driving my car, it wasn't stocked with gas, so we had a little less than 1/4 tank.  Anyone in Charlotte knows there's an intense gas shortage going on right now, and most stations are completely out, and those that have it are lined with cars waiting to fill up.  We decided to try to get out of Charlotte and look after that; we stopped at 2 or 3 exits without gas before finally venturing out to a desolate area and finding some without a long wait.  (This gas station sold "rap snacks".....it was not your regular BP!)  Lost time -- 10 min.  Irritation factor -- medium.
• Food -- Anyone who knows me, knows that food is something that really drives my mood.  If I am really hungry, and especially if I am really hungry and my food isn't what I wanted or gets messed up, it can RUIN my day (Amy, remember the airport incident??).  Well, I had missed lunch, and by the time we actually left our house (3:30), I was blood-sugar-low-feeling-sick kind of hungry.  I mentioned to Josh that I needed food, thinking he would get something before we get on the interstate.  Nope -- he turns right onto I-85 within a minute of my request for food, and says that we'll get it when we get outside of Charlotte and find gas. So at the first exit we tried to get gas, Josh drove past several restaurants, and then into a lone Wendy's.  Wendy's is not one of my choices of places to eat, but I'll eat it occasionally because I know Josh likes it.  So we wait forever (on our little bit of gas) in the drive through line, I order, and then we get our food.  Except the burger had no cheese, they didn't give me a straw for my drink, and no napkins!!!  And Josh didn't even order anything!!!!  So the only reason I was ok with Wendy's was b/c I thought he wanted it, and then they got my order all wonky.  Wendy's is definitely on the list for a while.....  Lost time -- 10 min.  Irritation factor -- major.
• Gas Cap -- We get gas, get back on I-85, and then a few miles later, Josh just starts slowing down and pulling on the shoulder and saying something like "uh-oh."  So with all of our tire mishaps, I assume something is wrong with the car.  Then he tells me he left the gas cap off!  Luckily, it stayed inside the little gas cap holder, and he was able to put it back on with no issues.  Lost time -- 2 min.  Irritation factor -- minor by itself // major cumulatively.
• M&Ms -- I decided to be sweet to Josh and buy him some Peanut M&Ms at the aforementioned gas station.  He seemed to be having a hard time getting them from the package, so I suggested he put them in the cupholder, but he didn't want to (do you sense the foreshadowing???).  Well, after stopping for the gas cap incident above, he must have just laid them down, because after he took off to get back on the interstate the M&Ms flew out of the package all over the car.  I got so mad I threw a Funyun on the floor for good measure  (yes, I was so frustrated and hungry....I had resorted to gas station saturated fats).  Lost time -- 1 min. later to clean the car.  Irritation factor -- straw that broke the camel's back level.

In all, we ended up getting to the dinner about 45 minutes late, after rushing to the hotel to change clothes.  That seemed to bring an end to the bad day, and we were able to celebrate happily with Adam, Hannah, and their friends and family at the dinner.  And thank goodness for the guy who gave me a glass of wine when I got there!!  But I am still bummed about missing the first part of the photo slideshow :(