Today is the one year anniversary of Jonathan working at his current job. It's hard to believe it's only been one year. We're so happy here and with the situation. It was really a miracle job, especially because we know so many law grads who still haven't found a position at all. So we're grateful.
Also, I want to take a minute and brag on my husband. He's handsome. He gives great hugs. He does dishes. He writes a mean will (but he'd rather write nice ones) in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia. He tracks down people across thirty years and five states armed only with their name and their parents' names, and imports angels from the far east. He also fixes toilets and internet when they start leaking. We've been married four and a half years, and I adore him so much.
Showing posts with label Mawwiage is what bwings us together. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mawwiage is what bwings us together. Show all posts
Friday, January 11, 2013
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
What my Valentine's Day looked like
I got some really adorable fabric last week, sort of red and turquoise satellite bursts on a white ground, and today during Meg's nap I took the leap and thought I'd make it up into a little jumper for her. I'd even already gotten a red turtleneck to go under it.
The first problem was that, contrary to my assumption, I did not know how to line a bodice. So I spent the WHOLE AFTERNOON fighting with it. I would consult the internet, it would let me down, and I'd fight some more. I finally got it put together, to discover it was way too late to start the Valentine's dinner I'd been planning.
So I got up Meg, went to pick up Jonathan, and he took me out for dinner. Then he took me to the electronics store to get a new camera battery charger (yes! yes! yes!).
We came home, and now that Meg was awake to try it on her, I discovered the second problem: the dress was completely, totally, and unfixably the WRONG SIZE. I had wasted all that fabric AND a whole afternoon I could have been doing something else. Meg started howling at me and I howled right back.
Jonathan, meanwhile, played with Meg and assured me he liked having subs for Valentine's dinner, he would have been uncomfortable with a clean house, and that practicing a new sewing technique is definitely not a waste of time. Would I like a glass of wine?
Handmade Ryan Gosling, eat your heart out. He's my valentine.
The first problem was that, contrary to my assumption, I did not know how to line a bodice. So I spent the WHOLE AFTERNOON fighting with it. I would consult the internet, it would let me down, and I'd fight some more. I finally got it put together, to discover it was way too late to start the Valentine's dinner I'd been planning.
So I got up Meg, went to pick up Jonathan, and he took me out for dinner. Then he took me to the electronics store to get a new camera battery charger (yes! yes! yes!).
We came home, and now that Meg was awake to try it on her, I discovered the second problem: the dress was completely, totally, and unfixably the WRONG SIZE. I had wasted all that fabric AND a whole afternoon I could have been doing something else. Meg started howling at me and I howled right back.
Jonathan, meanwhile, played with Meg and assured me he liked having subs for Valentine's dinner, he would have been uncomfortable with a clean house, and that practicing a new sewing technique is definitely not a waste of time. Would I like a glass of wine?
Handmade Ryan Gosling, eat your heart out. He's my valentine.
Monday, May 02, 2011
Bin Laden and marriage - two current events in one post!
I found out about the royal wedding myself, but Jonathan shared the news about Bin Laden's death this morning before I even had my coffee. WOO!
We are delighted. To those who have moral objections about the death penalty: some actions are deserving of death. It's a justice thing. It's not about lashing out in anger or deterrence or closure or various other things it might incidentally do; some crimes are worth dying for. His qualified. I hope he repented, and God will mercifully and justly sort him out. Glad that's not my job.
That being said, the Navy SEALS who did the raid were AWESOME. And I would be totally in favor of an Osama Down Day every May 1st, like a Guy Fawkes day. I'll buy fireworks!
I also think Homeland Security needs to drastically step down airport security, especially if they want to save the airline industry. This demonstrated (like Israel's been doing for years) that the way to prevent terrorism is by good intelligence, not strip-searching four-year-olds. We refuse to fly until they become rational again, and we're not the only ones.
Everybody's been posting their two cents, of course, but I liked this article from Heavenfield. It's a medievalist's take on the importance of proving your enemy's really dead. :-)
As for the wedding, I'm delighted about that too. Heavenfield had another fun post on "peace-weaving" royal marriages. She pointed out that first Prince Charles and now William married British women, strengthening the monarchy's ties to its own people.
Christian websites have all been taking the opportunity to talk about marriage in general. Jonathan pointed me to this post from Touchstone linking an article on David Hume's defense of one-man-one-woman marriage from a rationalist standpoint. He ties it to freedom. Yes, that David Hume.
"David Hume! The guy currently wearing a toga in Edinburgh! Mr. There's-No-Causality himself!" Jonathan
I'm going to take the opportunity to talk about an article I read last week in a Richmond Families magazine. I picked it up expecting storytime schedules, and got three pages on why all tweens need to be vaccinated with Gardasil, the cervical cancer prevention drug. Yes, you read that right. Tweens.
I read the entire article, just in case the author had a good reason. I will assume that their studies are correct and Gardasil really does prevent 85-95% of all cases of the virus/cancer, and further assume that it doesn't have any nasty side effects that surface ten or thirty or fifty years later.
But their assumptions were telling. The only way to know your child's partners are STI-free is if both remain virgins until marriage and 100% monogamous until death. This is said in a "boy are you naive to think that" tone of voice. Teens make poor choices, so parents need to prepare them.
Let's think about that a minute. We have here a risky behavior with numerous health issues. We can spend $360 per person for prior immunizations and untold millions in cleanup costs; or we can change behavior.
Smoking: change behavior! No doctor is shy about ordering you to quit.
Alcoholism: change behavior!
Obesity: change behavior!
Promiscuity: Well, of course your teenager is going to make poor decisions. We couldn't expect them to wait until they're adults, could we? Or wait until marriage? And asking adults to refrain from promiscuity? How ridiculous and backward. Never mind that chastity is 100% effective at preventing all STIs.
Our culture is so weird.
And this post is quite long enough, so I'll leave you with that. Thanks for reading.
We are delighted. To those who have moral objections about the death penalty: some actions are deserving of death. It's a justice thing. It's not about lashing out in anger or deterrence or closure or various other things it might incidentally do; some crimes are worth dying for. His qualified. I hope he repented, and God will mercifully and justly sort him out. Glad that's not my job.
That being said, the Navy SEALS who did the raid were AWESOME. And I would be totally in favor of an Osama Down Day every May 1st, like a Guy Fawkes day. I'll buy fireworks!
I also think Homeland Security needs to drastically step down airport security, especially if they want to save the airline industry. This demonstrated (like Israel's been doing for years) that the way to prevent terrorism is by good intelligence, not strip-searching four-year-olds. We refuse to fly until they become rational again, and we're not the only ones.
Everybody's been posting their two cents, of course, but I liked this article from Heavenfield. It's a medievalist's take on the importance of proving your enemy's really dead. :-)
As for the wedding, I'm delighted about that too. Heavenfield had another fun post on "peace-weaving" royal marriages. She pointed out that first Prince Charles and now William married British women, strengthening the monarchy's ties to its own people.
Christian websites have all been taking the opportunity to talk about marriage in general. Jonathan pointed me to this post from Touchstone linking an article on David Hume's defense of one-man-one-woman marriage from a rationalist standpoint. He ties it to freedom. Yes, that David Hume.
"David Hume! The guy currently wearing a toga in Edinburgh! Mr. There's-No-Causality himself!" Jonathan
I'm going to take the opportunity to talk about an article I read last week in a Richmond Families magazine. I picked it up expecting storytime schedules, and got three pages on why all tweens need to be vaccinated with Gardasil, the cervical cancer prevention drug. Yes, you read that right. Tweens.
I read the entire article, just in case the author had a good reason. I will assume that their studies are correct and Gardasil really does prevent 85-95% of all cases of the virus/cancer, and further assume that it doesn't have any nasty side effects that surface ten or thirty or fifty years later.
But their assumptions were telling. The only way to know your child's partners are STI-free is if both remain virgins until marriage and 100% monogamous until death. This is said in a "boy are you naive to think that" tone of voice. Teens make poor choices, so parents need to prepare them.
Let's think about that a minute. We have here a risky behavior with numerous health issues. We can spend $360 per person for prior immunizations and untold millions in cleanup costs; or we can change behavior.
Smoking: change behavior! No doctor is shy about ordering you to quit.
Alcoholism: change behavior!
Obesity: change behavior!
Promiscuity: Well, of course your teenager is going to make poor decisions. We couldn't expect them to wait until they're adults, could we? Or wait until marriage? And asking adults to refrain from promiscuity? How ridiculous and backward. Never mind that chastity is 100% effective at preventing all STIs.
Our culture is so weird.
And this post is quite long enough, so I'll leave you with that. Thanks for reading.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Cleaning, law heroes, and Castle
It's days like this when I am reminded that cleaning house is not my spiritual gift.
...
Yeah. Sigh.
...
Meanwhile, Jonathan is over there reading about Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and Learned Hand, and going "Squee!"
...
I've been of two minds whether or not to admit it on the blog, but we like the show Castle. There. That's out. Castle is fun because it's a cop show with a mystery author (Rick Castle played by Nathan Fillion) tagging along with the police detective (Kate Beckett played by Stana Katic), and it's got great writers, very funny dialogue, good plots, and very respectable side characters and guest stars. The main downside is that some episodes this season have been pretty dirty.
Rick Castle, the character, has been writing the Nikki Heat books, which are based on Kate Beckett, the detective. In a moment of sheer metaphysical awesomeness, ABC has released two books in real life purportedly written by Castle, and then writes episodes dealing with the books and the (so far purely fictitious) film version of them. Heat Wave actually made #26 on the New York Times bestseller list, which cracks me up. In a complex series of events involving three computers, two library systems, several reserves, and two real live librarians, I have procured copies of both of them. I was really excited.
Alas, the books are a good solid two notches dirtier than the show. So depressing. Because of it, I really can't recommend them.
Apart from the rampant immorality, Nikki Heat feels like a woman written by a man who doesn't actually know any women. He's always having her do things that men might consider hot, but no woman would actually do. Like, there was an odd scene where it was really warm out, so she took a bubble bath and didn't bother to dry off or dress, but just wandered around her apartment all slippery and decided to do some ironing. Um... excuse me? And that led directly into the fight scene with the thug who broke in, so it was just as well she was slippery and armed with a hot iron, but the author definitely failed.
The prose isn't that great, but it's a wonderful page-turning adventure. I want to be able to grab a reader like that.
My other main thought about the books has to do with the aforementioned sexual dysfunction that's all through them. It's in the show too, to a lesser extent. At her heart, Nikki doesn't appreciate or respect sex any more than the prostitutes she investigates. She has a no-strings, purely-physical, when-convenient relationship with one guy just to get her heart rate up occasionally. When the author comes bounding into her life and apartment (in a blackout, with tequila), she finds him so much better because at least he's playful and makes her play.
One of the suspects was a Swedish nanny. The dad had been taking her out to lunch and buying her things, so the detectives assumed they were having an affair, but when they asked her, she was shocked. "No! That would not be appropriate!" So I was sitting there applauding the nanny, because she was quite right. But the police station thought she must not be right in the head.
We have officially reached the point where not having sex is a sign something must be wrong with you, even if you're not enjoying it. So much for women's "liberation." Victorian heroines followed Victorian fashions, and modern heroines follow modern fashions.
In the show, Beckett and Castle haven't slept together yet, but it's just a matter of time. I'm kind of afraid of when they do get together, because then the writers will think the fun is over and have to stop writing. There isn't a single happily married couple in the entire show, though Castle has two ex-wives as recurring characters. Over and over again, the message is if the physical stuff is magic, then the relationship is good, but when it gets boring... meh. Why stick around? You should go find someone new.
I think I'll go hug my husband now. So freeing to know he won't divorce me, even if - gasp! - I get boring for a while. Not that I ever would, of course.
...
Yeah. Sigh.
...
Meanwhile, Jonathan is over there reading about Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. and Learned Hand, and going "Squee!"
...
I've been of two minds whether or not to admit it on the blog, but we like the show Castle. There. That's out. Castle is fun because it's a cop show with a mystery author (Rick Castle played by Nathan Fillion) tagging along with the police detective (Kate Beckett played by Stana Katic), and it's got great writers, very funny dialogue, good plots, and very respectable side characters and guest stars. The main downside is that some episodes this season have been pretty dirty.
Rick Castle, the character, has been writing the Nikki Heat books, which are based on Kate Beckett, the detective. In a moment of sheer metaphysical awesomeness, ABC has released two books in real life purportedly written by Castle, and then writes episodes dealing with the books and the (so far purely fictitious) film version of them. Heat Wave actually made #26 on the New York Times bestseller list, which cracks me up. In a complex series of events involving three computers, two library systems, several reserves, and two real live librarians, I have procured copies of both of them. I was really excited.
Alas, the books are a good solid two notches dirtier than the show. So depressing. Because of it, I really can't recommend them.
Apart from the rampant immorality, Nikki Heat feels like a woman written by a man who doesn't actually know any women. He's always having her do things that men might consider hot, but no woman would actually do. Like, there was an odd scene where it was really warm out, so she took a bubble bath and didn't bother to dry off or dress, but just wandered around her apartment all slippery and decided to do some ironing. Um... excuse me? And that led directly into the fight scene with the thug who broke in, so it was just as well she was slippery and armed with a hot iron, but the author definitely failed.
The prose isn't that great, but it's a wonderful page-turning adventure. I want to be able to grab a reader like that.
My other main thought about the books has to do with the aforementioned sexual dysfunction that's all through them. It's in the show too, to a lesser extent. At her heart, Nikki doesn't appreciate or respect sex any more than the prostitutes she investigates. She has a no-strings, purely-physical, when-convenient relationship with one guy just to get her heart rate up occasionally. When the author comes bounding into her life and apartment (in a blackout, with tequila), she finds him so much better because at least he's playful and makes her play.
One of the suspects was a Swedish nanny. The dad had been taking her out to lunch and buying her things, so the detectives assumed they were having an affair, but when they asked her, she was shocked. "No! That would not be appropriate!" So I was sitting there applauding the nanny, because she was quite right. But the police station thought she must not be right in the head.
We have officially reached the point where not having sex is a sign something must be wrong with you, even if you're not enjoying it. So much for women's "liberation." Victorian heroines followed Victorian fashions, and modern heroines follow modern fashions.
In the show, Beckett and Castle haven't slept together yet, but it's just a matter of time. I'm kind of afraid of when they do get together, because then the writers will think the fun is over and have to stop writing. There isn't a single happily married couple in the entire show, though Castle has two ex-wives as recurring characters. Over and over again, the message is if the physical stuff is magic, then the relationship is good, but when it gets boring... meh. Why stick around? You should go find someone new.
I think I'll go hug my husband now. So freeing to know he won't divorce me, even if - gasp! - I get boring for a while. Not that I ever would, of course.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
A birthday, a wedding, another birthday, and no funerals
I was going to title this post something about birthdays and weddings, and it struck me that since major life events were under discussion, I ought to make it clear from the beginning that nobody died. Just so you know.
Anyway. The first birthday in question was mine, last week; Jonathan took me out for dinner, and we went to Red Lobster. Their cheese biscuits are just as good as ever, and their new coconut shrimp with pina-colada sauce is amazing. Definitely yum. Meggie behaved herself and ate mashed potatoes, and the tableful of young guys next to us behaved themselves, and rebuked one of their own for swearing around a baby. Which was pretty great too. Jonathan was a darling and got me a jacket and a sweater, and Mama B. got me a dress to wear to the wedding, and then Mom sent me a whole bunch of fall clothes - gorgeous red and flame colored tops - and everything fit - so I made out like a very fashionable bandit this year. :-)
The wedding was Josh and Rachel's. Congratulations, you guys! We went up Friday and helped decorate and then onto the rehearsal dinner picnic and bachelorette party (both great fun). Rachel's sister-in-law came through and did a great job whipping the decor into shape, ably assisted by the groom's mom and sister and Lindsay, the maid of honor. Josh almost missed the rehearsal because of all the going-out-of-town-for-the-long-weekend rush-hour DC traffic, but the great thing about being the groom is that the rehearsal will wait for you. Convenient, that. My Jonathan stood in for him at first, and then he stood in for a groomsman, and then he stood in for two grandparents at once, so he really pulled his weight at a rehearsal he didn't even need to be at.
The New Mexico contingent was there in force, including spouses and the new little Emma, which was awesome. Only one of the old debate team was missing. (And we really missed you!) Josh was the last of the debaters to get married. I really enjoyed this wedding because on one side, it was New Mexico people I knew, and on the other side, it was college people I know. The bachelorette party was great (and very decent) girl-time. It was a very sweet weekend.
Friday night, we stayed with Frank and Christi, who showed us pictures of their new granddaughter, who had just occasioned the second birthday in question. She's an absolute doll. Yay!
On Saturday, we got up and got slightly lost on the way to the church, but were still there before the bride. When she arrived, I went out and assisted with the photography, and came inside to discover some slight pandemonium in the kitchen. So I pitched in. The inimitable Finnegans made everything better - and it all turned out great. Whew! My only complaint is that I didn't get to talk to everybody at the reception that I'd have liked to, especially college people. If you were there, and I didn't talk to you, I'm so sorry. We should catch up.
But I don't think the bride would have noticed anything short of a complete lack of cake, anyway. She was absolutely walking on a cloud. When they recessional-ed out of the sanctuary, they drifted through the reception room, and right on through the opposite door, and the photographer had a terrible time tracking them down again. So cute.
I have pictures up on Facebook. I didn't get many of the bachelorette party because my camera doesn't do well in low light, and I didn't get many of the reception because I was running around, so I can't wait to see other people's pictures. Post them soon, please!
Anyway. The first birthday in question was mine, last week; Jonathan took me out for dinner, and we went to Red Lobster. Their cheese biscuits are just as good as ever, and their new coconut shrimp with pina-colada sauce is amazing. Definitely yum. Meggie behaved herself and ate mashed potatoes, and the tableful of young guys next to us behaved themselves, and rebuked one of their own for swearing around a baby. Which was pretty great too. Jonathan was a darling and got me a jacket and a sweater, and Mama B. got me a dress to wear to the wedding, and then Mom sent me a whole bunch of fall clothes - gorgeous red and flame colored tops - and everything fit - so I made out like a very fashionable bandit this year. :-)
The wedding was Josh and Rachel's. Congratulations, you guys! We went up Friday and helped decorate and then onto the rehearsal dinner picnic and bachelorette party (both great fun). Rachel's sister-in-law came through and did a great job whipping the decor into shape, ably assisted by the groom's mom and sister and Lindsay, the maid of honor. Josh almost missed the rehearsal because of all the going-out-of-town-for-the-long-weekend rush-hour DC traffic, but the great thing about being the groom is that the rehearsal will wait for you. Convenient, that. My Jonathan stood in for him at first, and then he stood in for a groomsman, and then he stood in for two grandparents at once, so he really pulled his weight at a rehearsal he didn't even need to be at.
The New Mexico contingent was there in force, including spouses and the new little Emma, which was awesome. Only one of the old debate team was missing. (And we really missed you!) Josh was the last of the debaters to get married. I really enjoyed this wedding because on one side, it was New Mexico people I knew, and on the other side, it was college people I know. The bachelorette party was great (and very decent) girl-time. It was a very sweet weekend.
Friday night, we stayed with Frank and Christi, who showed us pictures of their new granddaughter, who had just occasioned the second birthday in question. She's an absolute doll. Yay!
On Saturday, we got up and got slightly lost on the way to the church, but were still there before the bride. When she arrived, I went out and assisted with the photography, and came inside to discover some slight pandemonium in the kitchen. So I pitched in. The inimitable Finnegans made everything better - and it all turned out great. Whew! My only complaint is that I didn't get to talk to everybody at the reception that I'd have liked to, especially college people. If you were there, and I didn't talk to you, I'm so sorry. We should catch up.
But I don't think the bride would have noticed anything short of a complete lack of cake, anyway. She was absolutely walking on a cloud. When they recessional-ed out of the sanctuary, they drifted through the reception room, and right on through the opposite door, and the photographer had a terrible time tracking them down again. So cute.
I have pictures up on Facebook. I didn't get many of the bachelorette party because my camera doesn't do well in low light, and I didn't get many of the reception because I was running around, so I can't wait to see other people's pictures. Post them soon, please!
Monday, June 14, 2010
I totally married the right man
Jonathan was in great form this morning. "Nihil intellectu quod non prius in sensu." He threw a sheet over his head. "Non sensu! Non sensu! NON ESSE!" The sheet slid off. "Ah. Possum esse."
Meg looked from her father, to her hilariously amused mother, and back. Eventually she decided it must be funny, so she started laughing too. This definitely qualifies as proof I married the right man. I mean, how many dads can make a funny all in Latin, amuse the baby, and mock John Locke all at the same time??
Meg looked from her father, to her hilariously amused mother, and back. Eventually she decided it must be funny, so she started laughing too. This definitely qualifies as proof I married the right man. I mean, how many dads can make a funny all in Latin, amuse the baby, and mock John Locke all at the same time??
Friday, April 02, 2010
Mawwiage
It's still kind of hard to believe, but my sister is actually married! The trip was a lot of fun, and Meggie traveled very well. She really liked having someone available to play with her at all times, though occasionally we overwhelmed her again. But she's such a sweetie.
Some of the highlights:
Friday (3/19): Somehow neither Jonathan's alarm nor mine woke us up (did we set them wrong? Did they not go off? Did we both just sleep through them both??), but God kindly woke us up eleven minutes before we were supposed to leave. So we scrambled and scooted. The HOV lane, incidentally, requires you to exit to stay on the Beltway. We weren't quite tracking and so drove through DC to get to BWI. Oh well; we got there in plenty of time. The flights were pretty awful, and it was lovely to get to NM. My parents were so excited to see Meg. We ran a couple errands and had dinner at El Pinto (yay!), and then drove home in a blizzard.
Saturday: Snow on the ground! Later in the morning Tami came over and did a test run of Emily's hair for the wedding. She looked lovely, of course, and naturally tried on her wedding dress for some pictures. Nefret the Bad Cat used the dress as a tent, and got black cat hairs and a dirty pawprint on it. She escaped with her life.
Sunday: We all went to church. This was my first time at Crossroads since they've been meeting at the school building; I wasn't home for a Sunday when I visited last fall. My dad was so proud of Meggie and showed her off to everybody. Afterwards we went to La Cocina with the Gacs and Christensens, and had a lovely time. We ran by Santa Fe while we were out.
Monday: I got in a few hours of work and we all did as much wedding prep as possible. Mom and Christi made several pans of enchiladas for post-wedding consumption.
Tuesday: Mom went to the store, Emily went for a mani and pedi, and Meg and I went uptown to socialize. We picked up a cake plate, dropped by the dentist's to say hi, had two really wonderful tacos from El Parasol, and hit the library used bookstore. Those are the tacos I'd been craving the whole time I was expecting, and never was able to get, since there is no El Parasol on the east coast and they don't ship well. I don't know what they put in them, but the flavor - and the grease - mm!
Wednesday: Emily packed her worldly goods into the truck. She drove that and Meg and I drove the Saturn to Portales. I was able to loan her my i-pod for the road, as Ryan had hers and it's a long, radio-signal-free drive. We were going to pick up Grandma and Grandad and bring them home with us, but Grandad wasn't doing well and had to go to the emergency room that night. They did let him come home rather than admitting him to the hospital. They got to meet Meggie for the first time. It was really sweet.
Thursday: Ryan and most of his groomsmen had road-tripped out to Portales, picking up a U-Haul on the way. They packed up some furniture Grandma and Grandad had been keeping for Emily and also transferred her stuff from the truck. Our friend Leah, who's living in Portales now, went and retrieved the pizzas for us and visited. Then everybody tumbled back into their vehicles and we caravanned back to Los Alamos: Emily and Ryan in the lead in the truck, the guys in the van pulling the U-Haul, and then Meggie and I bringing up the rear. They stopped in Santa Fe to grab their tuxes, and I stopped at Borders to get A Conspiracy of Kings since it was coming out this week - and they didn't have it! I couldn't believe it. At home, the groom's family and bridesmaids had arrived, so both families and most of the wedding party feasted on Mom's good brisket and salad.
Friday: We got up bright and early for a bridesmaids' breakfast. Mom used her pretty dishes and everything was really good (of course)! Then the whirlwind began. Groomsmen and friends and well-wishers turned up and packed up the wedding decorations, and the cake-decorators and pie-bakers arrived at our house and got to work, and there were trips back and forth the the church (the same one where I got married), and I stayed behind to feed Meg. My phone rang. It was my employers calling to say the project was over and they no longer were employing me as of that day. Boggle. So I told my parents and Jonathan, and we went to the church to carry on decorating. We ran home about 2:30 to get dressed, then back to church for the rehearsal. At 5:00 we went to the Finnegans' church for the rehearsal dinner, and after that the ladies went up to Joyce's house for an, ahem, lingerie shower for the bride.
Saturday: The wedding day dawned bright and clear, and cold. The bridesmaids dressed at the church. I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, because I had to get Meggie ready and me as well, and that basically wasn't going to happen. Tami finished up Emily and caught me and fixed my hair while I did my nails, which was really sweet of her. The girls all looked lovely. Heather handed our our bouquets, I handed over Meg to Liz, and we all piled into cars and headed out to the Overlook. This, just so you know, is where Ryan proposed to Emily! If you've never been, it's one of the most stunning views in North America, and Emily really wanted her wedding pictures taken there. We were so excited that Jennifer and Amanda took her wedding pictures, because they're both really good. A few are up already - and as you might suspect, there were lots of other photographers on duty, too.
The wedding itself was lovely. And the reception. We danced and ate and talked to friends we hadn't seen in years. Lots of people stayed to help clean up, and afterwards Megan, Meggie, and I went uptown to visit Josh and his new lady with the other debaters who were in town. Everybody came, I think, except Ben and Elsa (who couldn't fly out this time) and Emily and Ryan (who were elsewhere).
Sunday: Dad went to church, but the rest of us were too exhausted. We packed, did laundry, watched Eureka, and let Mom play with Meg all morning, like she'd been wanting to all week. In the afternoon Mom and I went to Santa Fe and went shopping, like I'd been wanting to all week. Much fun. Although Hastings also didn't have A Conspiracy of Kings.
Monday: Home. Mom drove Amanda to the airport at the same time as Jonathan and Meg and me, and then she went on to Portales to take care of Grandma and Grandad and visit Aunt Joann.
Some of the highlights:
Friday (3/19): Somehow neither Jonathan's alarm nor mine woke us up (did we set them wrong? Did they not go off? Did we both just sleep through them both??), but God kindly woke us up eleven minutes before we were supposed to leave. So we scrambled and scooted. The HOV lane, incidentally, requires you to exit to stay on the Beltway. We weren't quite tracking and so drove through DC to get to BWI. Oh well; we got there in plenty of time. The flights were pretty awful, and it was lovely to get to NM. My parents were so excited to see Meg. We ran a couple errands and had dinner at El Pinto (yay!), and then drove home in a blizzard.
Saturday: Snow on the ground! Later in the morning Tami came over and did a test run of Emily's hair for the wedding. She looked lovely, of course, and naturally tried on her wedding dress for some pictures. Nefret the Bad Cat used the dress as a tent, and got black cat hairs and a dirty pawprint on it. She escaped with her life.
Sunday: We all went to church. This was my first time at Crossroads since they've been meeting at the school building; I wasn't home for a Sunday when I visited last fall. My dad was so proud of Meggie and showed her off to everybody. Afterwards we went to La Cocina with the Gacs and Christensens, and had a lovely time. We ran by Santa Fe while we were out.
Monday: I got in a few hours of work and we all did as much wedding prep as possible. Mom and Christi made several pans of enchiladas for post-wedding consumption.
Tuesday: Mom went to the store, Emily went for a mani and pedi, and Meg and I went uptown to socialize. We picked up a cake plate, dropped by the dentist's to say hi, had two really wonderful tacos from El Parasol, and hit the library used bookstore. Those are the tacos I'd been craving the whole time I was expecting, and never was able to get, since there is no El Parasol on the east coast and they don't ship well. I don't know what they put in them, but the flavor - and the grease - mm!
Wednesday: Emily packed her worldly goods into the truck. She drove that and Meg and I drove the Saturn to Portales. I was able to loan her my i-pod for the road, as Ryan had hers and it's a long, radio-signal-free drive. We were going to pick up Grandma and Grandad and bring them home with us, but Grandad wasn't doing well and had to go to the emergency room that night. They did let him come home rather than admitting him to the hospital. They got to meet Meggie for the first time. It was really sweet.
Thursday: Ryan and most of his groomsmen had road-tripped out to Portales, picking up a U-Haul on the way. They packed up some furniture Grandma and Grandad had been keeping for Emily and also transferred her stuff from the truck. Our friend Leah, who's living in Portales now, went and retrieved the pizzas for us and visited. Then everybody tumbled back into their vehicles and we caravanned back to Los Alamos: Emily and Ryan in the lead in the truck, the guys in the van pulling the U-Haul, and then Meggie and I bringing up the rear. They stopped in Santa Fe to grab their tuxes, and I stopped at Borders to get A Conspiracy of Kings since it was coming out this week - and they didn't have it! I couldn't believe it. At home, the groom's family and bridesmaids had arrived, so both families and most of the wedding party feasted on Mom's good brisket and salad.
Friday: We got up bright and early for a bridesmaids' breakfast. Mom used her pretty dishes and everything was really good (of course)! Then the whirlwind began. Groomsmen and friends and well-wishers turned up and packed up the wedding decorations, and the cake-decorators and pie-bakers arrived at our house and got to work, and there were trips back and forth the the church (the same one where I got married), and I stayed behind to feed Meg. My phone rang. It was my employers calling to say the project was over and they no longer were employing me as of that day. Boggle. So I told my parents and Jonathan, and we went to the church to carry on decorating. We ran home about 2:30 to get dressed, then back to church for the rehearsal. At 5:00 we went to the Finnegans' church for the rehearsal dinner, and after that the ladies went up to Joyce's house for an, ahem, lingerie shower for the bride.
Saturday: The wedding day dawned bright and clear, and cold. The bridesmaids dressed at the church. I was running around like a chicken with its head cut off, because I had to get Meggie ready and me as well, and that basically wasn't going to happen. Tami finished up Emily and caught me and fixed my hair while I did my nails, which was really sweet of her. The girls all looked lovely. Heather handed our our bouquets, I handed over Meg to Liz, and we all piled into cars and headed out to the Overlook. This, just so you know, is where Ryan proposed to Emily! If you've never been, it's one of the most stunning views in North America, and Emily really wanted her wedding pictures taken there. We were so excited that Jennifer and Amanda took her wedding pictures, because they're both really good. A few are up already - and as you might suspect, there were lots of other photographers on duty, too.
The wedding itself was lovely. And the reception. We danced and ate and talked to friends we hadn't seen in years. Lots of people stayed to help clean up, and afterwards Megan, Meggie, and I went uptown to visit Josh and his new lady with the other debaters who were in town. Everybody came, I think, except Ben and Elsa (who couldn't fly out this time) and Emily and Ryan (who were elsewhere).
Sunday: Dad went to church, but the rest of us were too exhausted. We packed, did laundry, watched Eureka, and let Mom play with Meg all morning, like she'd been wanting to all week. In the afternoon Mom and I went to Santa Fe and went shopping, like I'd been wanting to all week. Much fun. Although Hastings also didn't have A Conspiracy of Kings.
Monday: Home. Mom drove Amanda to the airport at the same time as Jonathan and Meg and me, and then she went on to Portales to take care of Grandma and Grandad and visit Aunt Joann.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
My kitchen valentines
This year, I made the kitchen cabinets my valentines.
It's such a happy room. :-)
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
It's up!
My beautiful sister and her fiance officially have their wedding website up. Many kudos to them for accomplishing this (and all the rest of the wedding-planning!).
The "Proposal" section is particularly worth visiting. I merely note in passing that there's something about Los Alamos that makes serious boyfriends propose at the FIRST POSSIBLE opportunity. My own Jonathan did too, the very night he flew out from New Jersey. It's wonderful.
The "Proposal" section is particularly worth visiting. I merely note in passing that there's something about Los Alamos that makes serious boyfriends propose at the FIRST POSSIBLE opportunity. My own Jonathan did too, the very night he flew out from New Jersey. It's wonderful.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Mawwiage is what bwings us together
We spent yesterday going to Anne and Gabe's wedding! We had a pretty rough drive up and back (going: so much traffic, we averaged 35 mph all the way from Richmond to Maryland; going back: nightmarish late-night heavy rainstorms), but it was definitely worth it.
The bride and groom looked super-happy, and they'd done a beautiful job. It was a traditional ceremony with a dinner reception and dancing afterward! They actually got Macaroni Grill to cater it, and I hadn't gotten to swing dance or do the Virginia reel for ages, probably not since Ben and Lisa's wedding.
I'm not sure who put together the slide show, but it was hilarious, and Kenny makes an excellent MC. The toasts were really sweet and blessing-ey. I also liked all the country music. We learned three things: you don't mess with the photographer's camera, the Gabe's cowboy hat, or the Gabe's Anne. These are not in order of importance. :-)
We got to chat with lots of friends, including Mandy Red-Hand, who flew out from Minnesota for the occasion. Afterward, we got gloriously lost in Maryland cornfields taking her back to Emily-Rose's cottage. Jonathan and I were reaffirmed in our hatred for the GPS's evil direction-giving skills. We saw lots of dark woods, took a ferry over the Potomac, and did a little four-wheeling across a patch of grass masquerading as a driveway. (Whoops. Olwen had had a long day, too.) Emily-Rose even lent me a book on Anglo-Saxon. Bliss. We made it home, somewhat draggled but quite intact, about 2 a.m.
The bride and groom looked super-happy, and they'd done a beautiful job. It was a traditional ceremony with a dinner reception and dancing afterward! They actually got Macaroni Grill to cater it, and I hadn't gotten to swing dance or do the Virginia reel for ages, probably not since Ben and Lisa's wedding.
I'm not sure who put together the slide show, but it was hilarious, and Kenny makes an excellent MC. The toasts were really sweet and blessing-ey. I also liked all the country music. We learned three things: you don't mess with the photographer's camera, the Gabe's cowboy hat, or the Gabe's Anne. These are not in order of importance. :-)
We got to chat with lots of friends, including Mandy Red-Hand, who flew out from Minnesota for the occasion. Afterward, we got gloriously lost in Maryland cornfields taking her back to Emily-Rose's cottage. Jonathan and I were reaffirmed in our hatred for the GPS's evil direction-giving skills. We saw lots of dark woods, took a ferry over the Potomac, and did a little four-wheeling across a patch of grass masquerading as a driveway. (Whoops. Olwen had had a long day, too.) Emily-Rose even lent me a book on Anglo-Saxon. Bliss. We made it home, somewhat draggled but quite intact, about 2 a.m.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Pigeonholed
We spent this evening with books and online personality quizzes. (I love Fridays, in case I haven't mentioned it lately.) I liked this quiz -- it pegged me very accurately as an INTP and Jonathan as an ISTJ.
INTPs, I learn, are inclined to like sci-fi and grammar, and easy-going as long as you don't step on our principles. We pick up interests very intensely just long enough to get decent at them, and then -- oh look! A bird! We're also not very good at regularly posting on our blogs. :-)
I was also particularly amused by this list of probable careers for ISTJs, which included "Lawyer," "Military Leader," and "Computer Programmer."
INTPs, I learn, are inclined to like sci-fi and grammar, and easy-going as long as you don't step on our principles. We pick up interests very intensely just long enough to get decent at them, and then -- oh look! A bird! We're also not very good at regularly posting on our blogs. :-)
I was also particularly amused by this list of probable careers for ISTJs, which included "Lawyer," "Military Leader," and "Computer Programmer."
Tuesday, June 02, 2009
Monday, May 25, 2009
It spoke to my soul
Abraham Piper is so right.
We called our pending offspring "them"... once. Then we discovered what we'd said. :-)
We called our pending offspring "them"... once. Then we discovered what we'd said. :-)
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Calculations
I just ran across a list I made soon after moving to Richmond. As of July 22, in the previous 25 days (which would start counting the day of our wedding rehearsal and end two days after Ben and Lisa's wedding) we had stayed ten different places ranging from New Mexico, to Scotland, back to New Mexico, and then scattered across the continental US, for an average of 2.5 nights per place. Our maximum stay in a single location was six nights. That honor was actually split between my parents' house, in two stints, and our bed-and-breakfast in Edinburgh, also in two stints. The second-longest stays, at three nights, was split between our bed-and-breakfast in Inverness and the cottage where Ben and Lisa's wedding was held. These 25 days also included packing up my things and having them shipped to our new location. And then we got to move into a new apartment and learn a new city, where we didn't even know where to find grocery stores.
No wonder I was so tired!
My parents' house - 1
Santa Fe - 2
Atlantic Ocean - 1
Edinburgh - 3
Inverness - 3
Edinburgh - 3
My parents' - 5
Oklahoma somewhere - 1
Memphis - 1
Pigeon Forge - 1
Cottage in Fairfax County - 3
Richmond - 1
No wonder I was so tired!
My parents' house - 1
Santa Fe - 2
Atlantic Ocean - 1
Edinburgh - 3
Inverness - 3
Edinburgh - 3
My parents' - 5
Oklahoma somewhere - 1
Memphis - 1
Pigeon Forge - 1
Cottage in Fairfax County - 3
Richmond - 1
Thursday, October 02, 2008
Why I married Jonathan
Me: "That napkin ring couldn't be worse with that napkin. In the clash of color, the green loses. Here, hand me that green napkin ring and put the amber one on. Thank you."
Jonathan replaces the green one with an amber one, which sure enough does match the red-and-blue batik napkins somewhat better. He then puts the green one on his knife and his implements start to talk to one another.
'Duel, villain! Shwobo!'
'Die with honor!'
'Hey, no fair! Ancestors avenge me! I die with honor.'
Jonathan: "An arms race soon developed." The spoon now joined the conversation.
I married him because he's the only man on earth to combine napkin rings and anime. So there. :-)
Jonathan replaces the green one with an amber one, which sure enough does match the red-and-blue batik napkins somewhat better. He then puts the green one on his knife and his implements start to talk to one another.
'Duel, villain! Shwobo!'
'Die with honor!'
'Hey, no fair! Ancestors avenge me! I die with honor.'
Jonathan: "An arms race soon developed." The spoon now joined the conversation.
I married him because he's the only man on earth to combine napkin rings and anime. So there. :-)
Monday, September 08, 2008
Quotes of the weekend
"Come to the dark side. We have cookies." Jonathan, attributing it to Mr. Stanulis
"It's a bear! Actually, it's like a forest that eats bears and displays their pelts on its own branches. And I feel like a very small, undernourished bear." Jonathan on legal research
Upon discovering our wedding date: "You're fresh from the altar!" Liz at church
"It's a bear! Actually, it's like a forest that eats bears and displays their pelts on its own branches. And I feel like a very small, undernourished bear." Jonathan on legal research
Upon discovering our wedding date: "You're fresh from the altar!" Liz at church
Friday, August 08, 2008
Ben and Lisa's wedding
Many of us have been waiting a long time for this, and a happy event it was. :-)
The groom, looking at his Lisa.
The groomsmen. The rehearsal was exceeding- ly warm, but the Lord answered prayers and kept it from raining during the ceremony.
Lisa was beautiful.
Things grew breezy and overcast for the reception. The cake was tall and white and gardeney...
The happy event was July 20, 2008.
The groom, looking at his Lisa.
The groomsmen. The rehearsal was exceeding- ly warm, but the Lord answered prayers and kept it from raining during the ceremony.
Lisa was beautiful.
Things grew breezy and overcast for the reception. The cake was tall and white and gardeney...
And they danced in the rain. Perfect, n'est-ce pas?
The happy event was July 20, 2008.
Friday, August 01, 2008
"No stars so lovely"
A post about Scotland.
Jonathan and I were married June 28th, and for our wedding trip went to Scotland. :-) This was partly because we're both partly Scottish, partly to see a castle or two of Macbeth's, and partly because we'd never been and wanted to. We liked Scotland, for the record.
We stayed in Edinburgh most of the time, but took three days in the middle to go up to Inverness. Edinburgh is very much a city; very international, lots of ethnic restaurants, and I'm sure I saw Cyrillic-character graffiti. But it's a lovely city.
We didn't rent a car, so we became well acquainted with the air, train, bus, and even taxi systems. Public transportation in Scotland is a beautiful thing, and the bus drivers are even helpful. "Did ye want to go to Cawdor village or the castle? The castle? Verra well, I'll set ye doon there." But when the buses fail you, you can walk. The cities are actually pedestrian-friendly. And there are lots of little gates with honeysuckle or fuschia dangling over, and random historical plaques in corners, so the walker is well rewarded.
Scottish food is most unjustly maligned, incidentally. We thought it was amazing--except for coffee, hamburgers, and Chinese food. They cannot make those to save their lives. But if you confine yourself to tea and toffee sticky pudding and interesting little soups and salads and breads, and chicken, and fish-and-chips, and risotto, and Italian food, and paninis, and pasties... you get the picture. They use real ingredients, I do believe, and the waitresses are extremely nice. And even the burger place behaved like a real restaurant. We also learned that you will weird out the keepers of pubs if you try to order lemonade with your dinner. Eating in Scotland is downright fun. :-) We fell in love with the proper Scottish breakfast, consisting of tea, juice, toast, eggs, bacon or sausage, fried mushrooms and tomatoes, and yogurt and cereal and black pudding if you liked. (I didn't.)
When we weren't hanging out at bed-and-breakfasts, we indulged our favorite pastime of castle-hunting. Cawdor came first, being just a ways outside Inverness. Do you remember that line of Scott's about the birds, the funny one that was very long and embarrassing? "No jutty frieze, buttress, nor coign of vantage, but this bird hath made his pendant bed and procreant cradle. Where they most breed and haunt, I have observed, the air is delicate." This is of interest because it's true. The air at Cawdor is sweet, sweeter than any I've known, sweet like the waters at the Utter East. Shakespeare must have known.
And as it happens, the air of Cawdor was one of its better parts. It's the Lady Cawdor's house and is quite modern inside: at least, it was redone in the seventies, which is unfortunate. That wallpaper... There are many hideous treasures inside which I suppose they couldn't bear to get rid of. I can't blame them; I'm terrible at getting rid of things, myself; but it was a shame to see the castle so...uncastley. It was, as Bunter put it, a period piece, my lady, but of an inferior period. Jonathan was sorely disappointed at the gatehouse's indefensibility.
The next day we bought a picnic and took the bus to Urquhart Castle. We arrived just as they were ending some sort of historical even, apparently involving jousting and costumes and (oddly) the last yowling electric-guitar strains of Queen. It felt like something out of "Knight's Tale," which would discombobulate anyone. But eventually the historical people all went away and left us to explore the castle properly.
Urquhart traces its history back to the 900s when St. Columba converted the chieftain Emchath there on his deathbed. At some point it got built as a proper castle, and later someone else added additional living quarters off to the side. Then Jacobites deserted it during their rebellion, and blew it up with gunpowder so the royalists couldn't get it. Or maybe I'm getting that backwards. But now it's this dramatic gray stone ruin jutting into Loch Ness, and we saw it on a perfect evening. It was cloudy--the tourists filtered away--the loch slapped coldly against the water-gate landing--the museum and shop closed--and we betook ourselves to a little stair, to eat our bread and cheese and strawberries and wait for the bus.
Jonathan decided he could probably hold the castle against any force of the size that would be likely to come and try to take it. The clouds drifted down the loch. Soon the far mountains were obscured...then the nearer hills and the village...and soon it was just us and the castle. And the rain. The bus was half an hour late. But we had an umbrella and a picnic, and there are worse places to sit and wait than at a ruined castle in Scotland with one's new-wedded husband.
The third castle we hunted was Stirling. For this, we took a train up from Edinburgh. It dropped us right at the town, and the town is the sort that grew up around the castle like in David Macauley's Castle. So up to the castle we went. It's another amazing building. I quite see why the Scots and English kept wanting it. It's built on top of a rocky hill that overlooks the country in all directions, with a gorgeous thick wall or double wall, and then the building inside. We saw them weaving replacement "Unicorn" tapestries for Her Ladyship's chamber, and the newly restored Great Hall with thrones very much like the celebrant's chairs we used for Macbeth, and muddled about in the chapel and the somethingth regimental museum (I still don't know why it was in Stirling Castle, but oh well) and garden named after somebody because his body was thrown there after he got murdered, and had tea in the castle cafe, and then we left to go see Bannockburn before it closed.
It looked much closer on the map, in my defense. Also, I think the nice lady gave us directions to Bannockburn Village instead of Bannockburn Battlefield. I didn't know there WAS a Bannockburn Village. But by the time we figured this out, it was late. We were footsore. We wanted our dinner. The battlefield was closed by then anyhow. So we stood under our umbrella because it was raining again, and waited for a bus, which came and took us to our train.
It was a fun honeymoon. God was good, and always did send us a bus or hold up the train or locate an eatery for us, or whatever was necessary. And, furthermore: we're happily married. :-)
Saturday, June 21, 2008
Preparations
The Beatles, really strong coffee, and a bucket of mop-water go together really well. :-)
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