The calm... 9/28/2006

It will last for about twenty minutes... the calm before the storm. This is the time that I get to enjoy my cup(s) of coffee before heading off to get ready for work, wedding madness, and a life of wedded bliss.

heh... nothing like being overly dramatic!

The backyard is mostly done. All that is left is to water daily, put up the lights, move the beehive and do the final decorations. There is nothing more to be done to turn it into the 'wedding wonderland' that I had envisioned. I didn't achieve the 'wedding wonderland' but it will be fine. Actually, it'll be more than fine - it was a labor of love. Gary sowed the grass seeds there, investing himself in our future. The back yard is where he asked me to marry him. And we have spent many pleasant times watching the dogs romp in the grass, watching the birds eat my fruit, and watching the busy bees come and go.

My plans for the rest of the house didn't come to fruition. The flooring that I ordered was late--- then was not what I wanted (but yes, it was what I ordered). I returned it and ordered different flooring. That won't get here in time to install it. So, it will be the same old carpet that has seen better days. I did buy runners and put them down. They look okay --- bottom line is that if people know me, they know of my carpet/ flooring woes!

We've got a minister, the marriage license, a groom and a bride. I talked with the caterer yesterday and upped the count significantly, (25%). They can make the space work and that was my biggest worry. My dress is done, just waiting to be picked up, reservations are made for the wedding eve and wedding night and honeymoon. Wedding musician has the playlist and is busy arranging the music that I want for the processional. The beer is ready and is in the beer freezer, parents are flying in starting this weekend. The leis have been ordered and will be beautiful. I still have to finish off the centerpieces, seating cards, sign-in mat and table and the wedding favors. I'll be off the next two weeks and should be able to make progress in that area. AND, I have some wonderful friends who have offered their services to help right before the wedding! Kimela and Jaime are going to help with the lights and Diane has put herself at my disposal the day before the wedding.

Whew! I think that I'll just sit back for a few more minutes, pet the doggie who is sitting on my lap, and sip at my coffee...\

Pope-ism 9/22/ 2006

Whenever I read news articles, I do so with a careful eye... I trust the media to tell a story in a manner that they believe is going to further their aims, whatever their aims may be. So, I normally don't comment on anything that has made headlines in my blog. However, I read this commentary from a Turkish online newspaper, and found it to be a very refreshing view on the pope and his recent pope-ism.... and wanted to share.

So it begins!! 9/19/ 2006

OMG - I think that this time next month I'm gonna be a married lady!

So the festivities have started - My sis had me over for a day of rest and relaxation (massage and energy reading) two weekends ago, and last weekend my friends threw a wonderful bridal luncheon for me. Both were great --- very low-key (justwhat I had asked for!)

One of the nicest things about being an older bride is that I know myself much better now than I did at 20. I have come to appreciate friendships now that I know how precious they are. First time brides should definately experience the "bridal shower" with them at the center of it all. It is a rite of passage in many ways! I didn't want to try to be that blushing bride again. And my friends and sister honored my wishes, made sure everything was toned down, and thereby made it much more meaningful for me.

My sis had a massage thereapist and a energy reader come over to spend time with us. The day was quiet - only my sister, my niece and myself. In between sessions, we visited and munched on fruit and crossiant sandwiches. I met Leaha's new family member, Daisy. And we spent lots of time kissing and cuddling. (Daisy is the sweetest little puppy...) After it was all over and I finally had to head back home, I had lots to think about (energy reading) and was in a good place to be reflective.

The bridal luncheon was last Saturday -- and it was great too! It was exactly what I had hoped for -- good friends, good food, and lots of laughter. I think that one of my favorite things is to be in the middle of a group of people who get along well and are having a good time, and just sit back and enjoy the moment. Diane put everything together -- from decorating the table in my colors (and BTW, calla lilies are my favorite flowers) to ensuring that we had a great view of the bay and wonderful weather to compliment it. I don't know how she managed the weather aspect but for those of you who know Diane know that if she puts her mind to it... And the cupcakes were amazing! The staff brought the cupcakes out on a couple of three-tiered plate-thingeys. Wow - what a presentation! When they came out, eveyone ooh'd and aah'd. After we dove throught the cupcakes, the fight was on for the chocolates!!!

Oh! AND the gift from Diane and Kimela. Well, let me just note that paybacks are a ....

heh.

Seriously, I used to think that when someone received a gift that had to do with getting older (cane with a horn, you know the type) they just put it on the shelf. Now I know what really happens... I've needed a pill holder because I forget if I take my pill (thyroid) on many mornings! AND the Benefiber is going with me to Italy. One can never have enough fiber, specially when traveling.

Both days were lovely - filled with family, friends and lots of love. I am so lucky to have these wonderful people in my life.

Kitty adventures... 9/18/2006

I wanted to write about the totally fab bridezilla luncheon that my friend Diane threw for me on Saturday (with help from Kimela too!) But, this subject came up last night and I just had to clear it off my plate first.

The cat.

I have a cat. Well, Gary has a cat and now that we live together, "We" have a cat.

The cat, who I'll call Missy Kitty because that is her name, is not thrilled to be living here with us. She tolerates Gary and me. Since we feed her twice a day, she allows us to remain. She hates the dogs, especially Booboo.

And all of that is okay. Cats have certain standards and I have come to understand that no one can live up to those standards. I'm not upset that she doesn't want to cuddle with me --- I'm allergic anyway. Fine, I leave her alone and she tolerates me. Booboo doesn't leave her alone and is rewarded with several smacks to the face followed by much hissing.

Last night I realized that there was trouble in the house. I noticed Booboo in the atrium. She was snuffing around the plants and drooling and chewing.

hmmm.... not good. Nothing edible grows in the atrium.

A few days before, I noticed that Booboo had rank, poop smelling breath. I thought that she was diving in the litter box for cat treats. I checked the box - looked as if Gary had been keeping it pretty clean. I couldn't figure out what the terrible breath might be from, so I fed her a greenie treat to sweeten her breath. And no, I did not kiss her.

And now, Booboo is chewing something that she found in the dirt and rocks of the atruim. I shooed her away and investigated .... but found nothing. However, I suspected Missy Kitty was making herself at home in the atruim but had no evidence - only suspicions.

A short while later, Gary and I noticed Booboo stalking MK in the atrium. And we caught her... red pawed. She was doing her 'business' in the atrium!!!! AAAARRRRrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhh... ALL I NEED IS FREAKING CAT POOP AND PEEPEE IN THE ATRIUM!!! IT ALREADY SMELLS TERRIBLE IN HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE THE CANINE FRIENDS. NOW WE HAVE NASAL EVIDENCE OF THE CAT LIVING HERE TOO!!!! NOOOOOOOOOoooooooo

Well, Gary scared the crap out of the cat (literally). Hopefully he has scared her enough to keep her in her clean litter box and out of the atrium. And I, just to be safe, created a concoction of cayanne pepper and water and sprayed it liberally over the not-cat box area of the atrium. I used so much cayanne that I started sneezing too!

Great, just great. Now the house smells like canine, kitty AND cayanne.

Social Norms??? 9/14/2006

Did I miss something here? Maybe they teach a class in social behavior in school --- and I didn’t attend it.

I received an email last night from a caterer that I spoke with back in May. After attending a tasting, I was set to hire them for the wedding. I emailed them a few days after the tasting with questions on the menu and the contract and never received a response. Then, I called and left messages with the OWNER of the catering company. The person that I had been dealing with never called me back. So, I went with another caterer. And no, I didn’t email them to advise them that I did this --- figured that they didn’t care.

Now, I get an email from K* (less than five weeks before the wedding) wanting to finalize the plans.

Wha???

I responded to K*, advised that I went with another caterer due to her not returning my calls/ emails. Then I received a follow up email from the owner who wanted to “set the record straight”. He advised me that they keep a phone log and my calls are not logged in. (I guess that is because HE answered the phone when I called – both times). But despite their going out of their way to accommodate me, and my not contacting them, they wished me the best.

(I don’t believe it. They don’t wish me the best. They hope that my wedding falls apart. And maybe it will. But the chances of it falling apart are much less now that I went with a company that actually did a site visit, a private tasting for us, and returns my calls.)

So I responded to the owner – and reminded him that HE answered the phone --- and also reminded him of some of the conversation that we had when HE answered the phone. I was nice – apologized for not sending a final email although I figured that after talking with the owner, K* might actually return the call. And wished them the best.

(I hope they don’t believe it. I don’t wish them the best. I hope that things will fall apart for them because they don’t respond to contacts nor do they take responsibility when they screw up. I believe that word will get around and they will receive less and less business.)

I was surprised --- what did I miss? Did I miss the class that said that you must doggedly pursue doing business with someone who doesn’t respond to emails and calls? Did I miss the class that taught that certain people are special and social norms don’t apply to them? Did I miss the class on social norms???

More Coffee musings... 9/08/2006

There isn't enough coffee around here.

Well, there IS enough coffee. I just have to get to it in the morning before Gary does. Because...

there isn't enough coffee around here. Image
In a time BG (before Gary moved in), I would make a pot of coffee in the morning and have enough for two or three mugs before leaving for work AND a whole big travel cup full of lovely, aromatic, steaming hot Peets coffee.

AG (after Gary moved in), I'm lucky if I get two mugs in the morning before leaving for work and maybe a third of a travel cup. Oh, and the coffee in the the travel cup are the dregs from the bottom of the pot. Yccchh... French Roast dregs. Not good.

Not enough coffee...

I have this really great coffee maker... one of those timer/grinds the whole beans/brews the coffee into a stainless steel caraf types. I love it. AND Gary gave it to me as a birthday gift. It makes ten cups of coffee. In most households (and in my household BG), ten cups of coffee are quite enough. Not anymore.

I find myself hurrying to take him his first cup of the day while he is shaving. I carefully pour about two thirds of a cup for him... add the cream powder and a cube of sugar... smile, and deliver it. What I'm really smiling about is I'm thinking that I am being sneaky by filling it only two thirds of a cup full... heh Image More coffee for me!

Hey ! I know!! Maybe I'll have his travel mug "full" and ready for him to grab as he runs out the door for his 1.5 hour commute at 0630!!

Or, maybe I should go to work earlier than he does so I can have a FULL travel mug on my 15 minute ride to work.

Or, maybe I should add a BIG coffee maker to the bridal registry..... heh - the kind that is used for meetings at church!!

Or, maybe I'll just make a second pot (half full) later in the morning so that my poor fiance can have a whole cup of coffee in the morning. He's been wondering why he feels so tired lately.... shhhh.... don't tell him!

What good scotch can do... 9/07/2006

I bought another dress…

a bridal gown, to be exact. Image

I had felt that the first dress that I bought was going to be a little too mother of the bride-ish and since the real mother of the bride would be attending, I should wear something more bride-like.

Before I agreed to buy the dress, I called Gary. He didn’t answer his cell phone. Now, this is all a bit new for me… the idea that I should ‘check in’ with someone else before deciding upon a purchase. I make enough money to make my own decisions… I don’t like the idea of checking with anyone else before making a purchase. But I decided to check in with him…. I expect him to do the same when he is debating buying another piece of brewing equipment. And he did have a problem when I mentioned hair extensions a couple of weeks ago. I mean, really. $776 is a GREAT price for the hair extension AND the labor. He flipped out about it so I didn’t have it done.

So there I was, standing on the dais, viewing myself in the three way mirror, dialing his cell phone number, listening to it roll over to voice mail… which means that he didn’t pick up MY call and chose, instead, to remain on the line with whomever.

Humph. I was a little off-put. ImageTherefore, I bought the dress.

I left the bridal salon quite a bit poorer than I had arrived and began to feel some remorse. After all, we are getting married, combining finances, yadda, yadda, yadda… I should have checked with him first. But it was too late – I couldn’t go back and ask for a refund and then try to buy another dress from the same store later. What to do???

Still wondering how to go about telling Gary of this purchase, I stopped by Beverages and More to pick up champagne and cider for the reception. Gary and I had been in BevMo a couple of weeks prior and he commented on how he wanted a good bottle of scotch. I don’t get scotch but Gary does. He really wanted a nice scotch but wouldn’t buy it for himself. (And I think that if he, a 40 year old man, wants a bottle of scotch, he should have it!) So, I stopped by the scotch case, asked a nice young man to open it, chose a bottle of 18-year old Macallan, and added it in with my purchases.

Gary and I arrived home around the same time that evening. I instructed him to sit and rest his weary body… I had a surprise for him! I poured two fingers of scotch into a glass, told him to close his eyes, and held it under his nose. I could see his nostrils quiver when the aroma wafted up! He sipped, opened his eyes in surprise, and I told him what it was! And how he enjoyed it!!! I waited until he was well into the first glass before I mentioned my day of shopping.

“Oh and by the way, I bought a new dre….” “Huh?” he replied? “A new dress”, I said. He stared at me for a moment then simply said, “I don’t wanna know…”


Heh… Image