Mentioned these videos before but I hadn't uploaded them yet to share. I have a fourth one - a longer one with the humpbacks with some great noises and fin whackings but it refuses to upload so I guess that one will stay with me. Boo.
Harbor Seals:
Humpback Whales:
Orcas:
Friday, August 31, 2007
Now That's Service!
I promise eventually I'll finish up my in-progress post about the rehearsal and wedding. Eventually. I've been busy. And sick.
Anyway, I sent my request off to the Outagamie courts on Wednesday for copies of our marriage certificate so I can get started on my name change process. I almost died of shock when I saw what was in the mailbox when I got home today. (Click on it for the full size image, complete with blacked out identity-theft prone information!)
Talk about a fast turn-around! Wow!
Anyway, I sent my request off to the Outagamie courts on Wednesday for copies of our marriage certificate so I can get started on my name change process. I almost died of shock when I saw what was in the mailbox when I got home today. (Click on it for the full size image, complete with blacked out identity-theft prone information!)
Talk about a fast turn-around! Wow!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Monday, August 27, 2007
Pictures
Ok, so pictures of the reception and honeymoon are up on Flickr. We won't have the professional pictures back for a couple more weeks. All are public so you shouldn't need to sign in to view them (I think.) Hopefully I got them all rotated correctly. Let me know if you find one that's still sideways.
They are in no particular order and you might find some duplication since we had 20 cameras at the reception and a digital and film camera in Alaska. Speaking of Alaska, the pictures named IMG_XXX are digital from my camera and pictures named 30465XX are from the film camera.
I left all but a very few in the sets. I think I deleted maybe 10 from the honeymoon and only 2 from the reception (for bad light, blurriness, or "what the heck is that?"ess)
So enjoy!
They are in no particular order and you might find some duplication since we had 20 cameras at the reception and a digital and film camera in Alaska. Speaking of Alaska, the pictures named IMG_XXX are digital from my camera and pictures named 30465XX are from the film camera.
I left all but a very few in the sets. I think I deleted maybe 10 from the honeymoon and only 2 from the reception (for bad light, blurriness, or "what the heck is that?"ess)
So enjoy!
Saturday, August 25, 2007
Honeymoon - Day 7
It was another rough night. The boat rocked and neither Adam nor I slept well. We woke up kind of late although the fact that we left Alaska’s time zone and lost an hour didn’t help. We went to a late breakfast at Blue Lagoon, dropped off our express debarkation and comment forms, got some chocolate at the shops on deck 7, and headed back to the room to catch up on some sleep lost last night. Adam proceded to get sicker as the day went on. We managed to make it to the honeymoon/anniversary cake party at 2 but after that he laid back down and didn't get up again except for bathroom trips. I spent part of the afternoon/evening on the balcony, part of it trying to get the duty-free store to refund our money for some bad Milka chocolate (which they finally did), and part of it watching movies in the room. I went and ate dinner at the buffet by myself and smuggled a bag of saltines and some coke back for Adam. We had a Pub Crawl excursion planned for Victoria but we didn't even get off the boat. I suppose I could have gone by myself but I didn't really want to. We spent the evening watching a James Bond movie (the one with Halle Berry) and feeling sorry for ourselves. Stupid sick people who come on the boat... Grrrr
Friday, August 24, 2007
Honeymoon - Day 6
Today was our third and final Alaskan port of call. We docked at Ketchikan early this morning – around 6. We had our wake up call for 5 so we could shower and eat before heading off the boat. We got onto the bus that took us to the dock for our Lighthouse, Eagles, and Totem Poles excursion. It was another water-based trip. It took us around the area showing us eagles’ nests and babies, a totem pole park, and their revered lighthouse. Overall a good tour. They at least had some freebies. It got pretty cold while out on the water though. After returning to the dock we stopped at a couple stores to pick up the last of the souvenirs we wanted and then headed to the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. It was raining a little before the show began but the weather held until the very last event. It was pretty much pouring during the log-rolling competition. Our team lost but it was still a good time. We stopped off at the last Milano store to get our Alaska CD before getting back on the boat. Adam set the metal detector off again (Tylenol was the culprit this time) and after dropping off our purchases we headed up to the buffet for lunch. Apparently every other passenger had the same idea because it was busy. We ended up sitting outside to eat. After lunch we went back to the room for a nap. We went to the early show of the cruise ship’s dance company’s Garden of the Geisha. It was an interesting performance. Lots of modern dance with some ballet and some circus-style rope twirling from the ceiling. After the show the ship’s crew came out and sang some cheesy song about how we’re part of the Norwegian Cruise Line family now. Blech. We went to Blue Lagoon for dinner again and both Adam and I got the burger and fries. We happened to be seated next to an older couple who lived in Chicago but were born and raised in Neenah. Odd… After dinner we killed some time in the room and then headed up to Spinnaker Lounge for the adult themed Second City improv show. Honestly I was kind of unimpressed. Some of it was "Who’s Line" rip-offs and most of it was highly un-adult-themed unless you consider throwing a few obscenities in adult-themed. After the show we went up to the chocolate buffet. It was amazing, lots of chocolate food items as well as ice sculptures, chocolate sculptures, and chocolate everything. Once again everyone on the ship had the same idea so we filled our plates and took them back to our cabin to enjoy.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Honeymoon - Day 5
Today is the second day at sea. We went through Glacier Bay this morning. We woke up and had breakfast at the buffet again. We headed up to the top decks as we approached the biggest of the glaciers of the day. Got some good pictures and then headed back inside. It was cold this morning – about 45. We went in between the indoors and outdoors while we cruised through multiple glaciers for most of the morning. We also had coffee to warm us up. We ate lunch at the Summer Garden. I had chicken fingers (which I suspect were coated in coconut) and a lemon-rosemary chicken. Adam had an apple bisque and a burger and fries. For dessert I had chocolate ice cream and Adam had pecan pie. After lunch we headed back to the room for a while. I offloaded the pictures from my camera – current count is 148. After a lazy afternoon of napping, watching movies on the ship’s tv, and glimpsing a few whales, we got dressed and went to dinner. We had reservations at Mambo’s – the ship’s tex-mex restaurant – and one of the no-cover-charge ones. I had a Caesar salad with cute mini tortilla chip croutons and chicken fajitas. Adam had shrimp quesadillas and bbq pork ribs. For dessert I had this chocolate pastry and ice cream thing and Adam had flan. We were entertained throughout our meal by Los Tres Hernandez, some quasi-Spanish/Mexican music (only one of the three is remotely Hispanic.) After dinner we headed back to the room to call it a night. Tomorrow morning is an early one.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Honeymoon - Day 4
Today was an early day. We actually set up a wake-up call but managed to wake up naturally about 3 minutes before it. Weird… The boat had already docked (about an hour early) when we got up. We showered, ate a quick breakfast at Blue Lagoon and headed onto shore. Second port of call – Skagway. We got there a little early having learned from yesterday’s bus situation. It was a lot easier to get off the boat this time too. We were the first people on the bus and claimed the back seat as ours. Although this was a “deluxe” motorcoach so this put us right by the bathroom. The price you pay for comfort I guess. The tour started with a tour of Skagway and took us north into Canada and the Yukon. Our guide, Trevor, was entertaining and told lots of interesting stories, some true and, I suspect, some false. We stopped numerous times along the route for pictures. We ended up at Caribou Crossing in the Yukon for lunch. We had a tasty barbeque and potato lunch. We browsed the gift shop where Adam successfully found his Cubans (shhhh!) We visited the sled dogs that are bred and trained there. We socialized with two horses that roamed the yard. After that we got back on the bus, headed a little further north, and then headed back down south. We were taken back to the White Pass Railway depot and boarded the train. About two hours through mountains, gorges, bridges, two tunnels, spectacular views, and steep grades got us back to Skagway. We had a lot more time in Skagway than we had had in Juneau and in addition to our raffles and free stuff we actually did do some shopping. We got back to the boat early and breezed through security. They did take our ulu knife though and we’ll have to pick it up at the end of the cruise. We went back to the room, changed, and went to the bar before going to dinner at Le Bistro. This was part of our honeymoon package. We got a free bottle of wine, a cake, and the cover charge was waived. I had cream of mushroom soup served in a bread bowl and chicken with moreilles mushrooms. Adam had lobster and shrimp martini, French onion soup, and salmon. All very good once again. For dessert I had an apple tart and Adam had crème brulee. The waitstaff sang to us as they presented us with the cake. Slightly embarrassing but by that time I’d had some wine so perhaps that’s why my face was red… We also showcased our lack of class by making the wine glasses hum to check if they were real crystal. After dinner we sat in the lounge for a little while listening to the jazz pianist and waiting for the boat to leave the port. We headed back to the room and went to bed.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Honeymoon - Day 3
We ate breakfast at the buffet again this morning. Seems to be the same choices each day. We spent some time out on the deck by the swimming pool. In coats, under blankets, and cuddled together of course. It’s a chilly one! We spent some time on the other side of the boat as well and ordered margaritas at 11:30am. They came in plastic souvenir cups. We had a light lunch of mostly bread to make sure we weren’t tipsy for our first shore excursion. Today was our first time off the ship since boarding in Seattle. Juneau was our first port of call. We arrived around 1 but had to wait for another NCL boat to leave the dock before we could actually get on dry land. It was a little congested getting off the boat but once through the crowd of people who didn’t know what they were doing it was ok. We got on the bus for our Mendenhall Glacier tour. Cruises and these tours are not made for tall/wide people. The bus is a normal Greyhound/Coach kind of bus and when Adam and I sat in a seat together we were totally squished. Of course they book these tours to the max so we couldn’t have individual seats. We solved this problem by getting back to the bus after the glacier really early so we could claim the back seat (technically 3 seats so it made for more room and knee room for Adam.) Anyway, after a mini town tour from Lowell, our bus guide, we stopped at Mendenhall Glacier. Took lots of pictures, visited the museum and visitor’s center, and watched some salmon spawning. It was a little rainy and mighty cold. But not unbearable. Speaking of bears, some people saw some over by the creek the salmon were in but we didn’t have the pleasure while we were there. After getting back on the bus we drove to the docks and got on a catamaran boat to go whale and wildlife watching. The boat was much more roomy and comfortable. We got out into the open water and managed to hit the wildlife watching jackpot. We saw a pod of orcas, at least 8 humpback whales, and a group of harbor seals sunning themselves on a buoy. I got videos and pictures of them all. It was a good time. The naturalist aboard was very interesting and deseminated all kinds of good information. We arrived back to the pier a little early and to kill time before the buses returned we watched the Alaska ferry dock in front of us. Back on the bus we rode to the center of town, did some power shopping (well, not really shopping… we had raffle entries to drop off and free stuff to redeem) we walked back to the ship. Unfortunately the ship was much further away than we thought and it began to rain again but we eventually got back and got dried off. We didn’t have to walk the jogging track tonight, that’s for sure. We ate dinner at the buffet since I had a craving for mashed potatoes. We discovered that the buffet doesn’t have mashed potatoes… grrrr. We called it a night soon after we ate.
Monday, August 20, 2007
Honeymoon - Day 2
We didn’t set any alarms for this morning since we didn’t really have anything we had to do because it’s a day at sea. We woke up around 7:30. After showering we went to breakfast at the buffet. It was decent. Many choices and the only lines seemed to be for custom cooked omelets. After breakfast we stopped back at the room to ditch our jackets and pick up sunglasses. It had rained during the night and was kind of cloudy when we woke up but by 9:30 or so the sun had appeared and things were looking good. We spent some time next to the pool on Deck 12. We headed to the Crystal Atrium for the 11:30 Alaska Brand Seminar where we got lots of discount coupons and a coupon for a free charm and tanzanite item in Skagway. We ate lunch at the casual Blue Lagoon Café. I had the wonton soup, a hamburger and fries. Adam had fish and chips. Both very good again. We went up to the buffet for dessert and then returned to the room for a nap. After a relaxing afternoon of pretty much doing nothing we got dressed up in our good clothes and headed to the atrium for “Dress up or not” photos. We stopped back in the room to change into something more comfortable and then went to the theatre for the Second City comedy group. They were pretty good with lots of relevant, ship-related sketches. After the show we went to Indigo for dinner. I had a watermelon/fried feta salad and orzo. Adam had more shrimp cocktail and the seafood extravaganza which included lobster, mussels, and all kind of other smelly food. For dessert I had a chocolate mousse thing and Adam had strawberry sorbet. Pretty good again. Not as good as last night, but this one was free. Once again, we bumped into the couple from the hotel and shuttle as they were leaving and we were ordering so we said hi. Strange… We returned to our room right after sunset (around 9pm!) and hung out for a bit. We had a towel animal on our bed to greet us.
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Honeymoon - Day 1
We woke up with the alarm this morning. I had been up a few hours earlier and managed to be able to take my pill at the correct time. This will probably not continue since I really doubt I’ll be motivated enough to wake up at 5am (well 4am when we get to Alaska) every morning. We showered and headed downstairs for breakfast. It was a pretty good spread. Pastries, even eggs. After breakfast we went back up to our room and took a nap until about 11. Then we headed back to the lobby to check out and wait for the shuttle to the pier. We met a nice older couple who also were to sail on the Pearl. When the shuttle arrived we squeezed into the van and were informed two more people had to get on still. We all managed to fit along with all our luggage.
A long and rainy trip to the pier took us through gray, run-down, industrial areas of Seattle. We got to the dock a little after 1pm. We dropped off our checked bags, stood in a few lines to have our tickets and passports checked, get our room cards and pictures taken, and finally get onboard the ship. Start to finish was probably 45 minutes. Very organized process that went smoothly considering how many people there were to load onto the ship.
We checked out our room and after we discovered we weren’t even supposed to be there yet we went up to the buffet for some lunch. It was kind of intimidating and we barely made a dent in the food choices. We wandered the ship a little until the announcement for the lifeboat drill came over the PA system. We happened to run into two of the couples we had ridden to the dock with in our wanderings. And they say it’s a big boat… The couple from the hotel actually decided to send the champagne from their room to us since they don’t drink and they knew it was our honeymoon. We went back downstairs to our room to get our life jackets and then went to our assigned muster station. The drill itself was relatively painless. When we returned to the room Adam’s bag had been delivered but mine wasn’t there yet. We wandered the ship some more and watched the boat leave the pier from the top deck in front. Then we walked around to the back. We came back to the room so Adam could call his parents and drop off his camera. My suitcase arrived while we were there and I unpacked while Adam enjoyed our balcony. We made arrangements to eat at Cagney’s Steakhouse, one of the specialty restaurants onboard (and the one with the most expensive cover charge.) We changed to meet the dress code and headed up. It was a fabulous meal. I had chicken and mashed potatoes and Adam had a steak with onions. I also had an absolutely to die for chocolate dessert – Sinful Chocolate Obsession. Adam had Bananas Foster. All in all a wonderful experience. We stopped for a drink at the martini bar and enjoyed some jazz music while we were there. We also ran into a couple from the shuttle ride for a second time! We went back to the room to change and get jackets and then walked a lap on Deck 7 and another on Deck 12. We called it a night after that.
A long and rainy trip to the pier took us through gray, run-down, industrial areas of Seattle. We got to the dock a little after 1pm. We dropped off our checked bags, stood in a few lines to have our tickets and passports checked, get our room cards and pictures taken, and finally get onboard the ship. Start to finish was probably 45 minutes. Very organized process that went smoothly considering how many people there were to load onto the ship.
We checked out our room and after we discovered we weren’t even supposed to be there yet we went up to the buffet for some lunch. It was kind of intimidating and we barely made a dent in the food choices. We wandered the ship a little until the announcement for the lifeboat drill came over the PA system. We happened to run into two of the couples we had ridden to the dock with in our wanderings. And they say it’s a big boat… The couple from the hotel actually decided to send the champagne from their room to us since they don’t drink and they knew it was our honeymoon. We went back downstairs to our room to get our life jackets and then went to our assigned muster station. The drill itself was relatively painless. When we returned to the room Adam’s bag had been delivered but mine wasn’t there yet. We wandered the ship some more and watched the boat leave the pier from the top deck in front. Then we walked around to the back. We came back to the room so Adam could call his parents and drop off his camera. My suitcase arrived while we were there and I unpacked while Adam enjoyed our balcony. We made arrangements to eat at Cagney’s Steakhouse, one of the specialty restaurants onboard (and the one with the most expensive cover charge.) We changed to meet the dress code and headed up. It was a fabulous meal. I had chicken and mashed potatoes and Adam had a steak with onions. I also had an absolutely to die for chocolate dessert – Sinful Chocolate Obsession. Adam had Bananas Foster. All in all a wonderful experience. We stopped for a drink at the martini bar and enjoyed some jazz music while we were there. We also ran into a couple from the shuttle ride for a second time! We went back to the room to change and get jackets and then walked a lap on Deck 7 and another on Deck 12. We called it a night after that.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Not so Happy Feet
Happy Feet was delivered to our door last week (yay for Blockbuster Total Access!) We watched it on Sunday morning before doing our shopping etc.
Within the first 2 minutes I looked over at Adam and said, “is it bad that I already want to barf?” I mean a penguin was busting a move to Prince…come on now…
This film has its good elements. It has its bad elements.
On the good side: Penguins are cute. There were a few respectably funny jokes. The short, Mexican penguins? Hilarious.
On the bad side: Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. Bad Moulin Rouge rip-off. Why would a penguin have man boobs? Thinly veiled social commentary disguised as a kids movie much? A tap-dancing penguin? Really? I found the whole premise completely stupid. I found the 1950’s musical style of randomly breaking into song distracting. And the elephant seals? Totally creepy.
Ok, so I suppose it’s obvious that this won’t make it onto my favorite movies list. It was such a stupid movie that I can’t even bear to write any more about it.
Within the first 2 minutes I looked over at Adam and said, “is it bad that I already want to barf?” I mean a penguin was busting a move to Prince…come on now…
This film has its good elements. It has its bad elements.
On the good side: Penguins are cute. There were a few respectably funny jokes. The short, Mexican penguins? Hilarious.
On the bad side: Cheesy, cheesy, cheesy. Bad Moulin Rouge rip-off. Why would a penguin have man boobs? Thinly veiled social commentary disguised as a kids movie much? A tap-dancing penguin? Really? I found the whole premise completely stupid. I found the 1950’s musical style of randomly breaking into song distracting. And the elephant seals? Totally creepy.
Ok, so I suppose it’s obvious that this won’t make it onto my favorite movies list. It was such a stupid movie that I can’t even bear to write any more about it.
T Minus, well, I guess it's 2 now...
So far I’ve managed to stay on schedule with all the things I’ve needed to get done. That’s pretty amazing considering I’m a master procrastinator.
Our marriage license is safely waiting with all our other rehearsal stuff. It was a piece of cake, picking it up. It took about 30 seconds. The whole licensing procedure was pretty painless actually. That’s kind of nice. Now I get to start filling out the name change paperwork. Woo…
I made the final beauty appointment needed (for nails) yesterday afternoon. At least I think I made a nail appointment. Why is it that every nail salon is owned and operated by someone of Asian persuasion with barely a grasp of the English language? For all I know I might have made three appointments for Chinese water torture, but I hope not… I also placed the order for lunch on Friday at Erbert & Gerbert’s. Once again, not the most articulate and efficient salesperson handled this so I’m hoping she got the order right and it will be ready when I come to pick it up.
Monday night was pretty boring. I don’t even really remember what I did. I do recall that I started packing and I’ve gotten as far as I can go until I do the final loads of laundry tonight or tomorrow morning. It should be interesting trying to get all the stuff I flung in the general direction of the suitcases actually into the suitcases.
Last night I had some errands to run before I headed home (as previously mentioned) and when I got home I cleaned hamster cages, did dishes, and then crashed. At like 8. Seriously. But I figure I won’t be getting the greatest sleep for the next few days so I’m ok with that.
Today is my last day at work for the week. I’ll be leaving at 3 and heading up to Kaukauna to pick up the dresses. They’ll be dropped off at Adam’s parents’ house for Friday. That’s really the only thing I have to get done today. Adam’s picking up Catherine (the sister) sometime today and we plan to go to the drive-in tonight assuming the weather cooperates. I’m hoping Adam cleans the guinea pig cages at some point. I might do laundry. But that’s about it.
Thursday will be busy, but hopefully not crazy-like. I’ve tried to space appointments out so that if we start running behind it’s not a huge deal. And Friday should be fine. The weather looks good
and I’m confident that everyone will do what they’re supposed to and things will work out fine. And if not, what can you do? Really, at this point I’m looking forward to the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night, the reception on Friday, and finally being able to relax by Sunday night. :)
Our marriage license is safely waiting with all our other rehearsal stuff. It was a piece of cake, picking it up. It took about 30 seconds. The whole licensing procedure was pretty painless actually. That’s kind of nice. Now I get to start filling out the name change paperwork. Woo…
I made the final beauty appointment needed (for nails) yesterday afternoon. At least I think I made a nail appointment. Why is it that every nail salon is owned and operated by someone of Asian persuasion with barely a grasp of the English language? For all I know I might have made three appointments for Chinese water torture, but I hope not… I also placed the order for lunch on Friday at Erbert & Gerbert’s. Once again, not the most articulate and efficient salesperson handled this so I’m hoping she got the order right and it will be ready when I come to pick it up.
Monday night was pretty boring. I don’t even really remember what I did. I do recall that I started packing and I’ve gotten as far as I can go until I do the final loads of laundry tonight or tomorrow morning. It should be interesting trying to get all the stuff I flung in the general direction of the suitcases actually into the suitcases.
Last night I had some errands to run before I headed home (as previously mentioned) and when I got home I cleaned hamster cages, did dishes, and then crashed. At like 8. Seriously. But I figure I won’t be getting the greatest sleep for the next few days so I’m ok with that.
Today is my last day at work for the week. I’ll be leaving at 3 and heading up to Kaukauna to pick up the dresses. They’ll be dropped off at Adam’s parents’ house for Friday. That’s really the only thing I have to get done today. Adam’s picking up Catherine (the sister) sometime today and we plan to go to the drive-in tonight assuming the weather cooperates. I’m hoping Adam cleans the guinea pig cages at some point. I might do laundry. But that’s about it.
Thursday will be busy, but hopefully not crazy-like. I’ve tried to space appointments out so that if we start running behind it’s not a huge deal. And Friday should be fine. The weather looks good
and I’m confident that everyone will do what they’re supposed to and things will work out fine. And if not, what can you do? Really, at this point I’m looking forward to the rehearsal dinner tomorrow night, the reception on Friday, and finally being able to relax by Sunday night. :)
Monday, August 13, 2007
T-5
Reader crisis resolved. Even though every time I called either my uncle or aunt I got voice mail the first time Adam dials my uncle’s number my uncle answers it. Grrrr. Fortunately he’s fine with taking over the first scripture reading although he’s not sure if they’ll arrive in time for the rehearsal. It should be fine either way.
Headcount is final so, please, no more RSVPs from irresponsible, rude, unable to plan ahead people. You can’t come. Place cards are done, numbered, and alphabetized. Itineraries are done, copies of passports and flight plans are made. Pet care instructions for Katie and Chris are done.
I will pick up our marriage license at lunch today. I will go to the bank to get a wad of cash for the honeymoon. Hmm. Perhaps I shouldn’t announce that. It might make me a target for the throngs of people who read this blog.
Anyway, I haven’t started packing yet. Well, the suitcases are out and ready against the wall in the bedroom and I did throw a bottle of shampoo in it. I don’t think that counts. I’ve got one or two more rounds with the washer before we leave so I’m going to probably pack two or three times.
Speaking of the washer, I did some laundry on Saturday afternoon and when I went to start the dryer the knob thing to start it fell off in my hand. Luckily it still started but I was left with a semi-broken dryer. I kind of forgot about it until yesterday when I did the other half of the laundry. Luckily Adam was still home when I remembered it so he could come down and look at it. He took apart the top panel and discovered a piece of plastic had broken off. He used some plastic glue or something from his modeling stuff and it looks like that might work. Otherwise we’d be calling Lowe’s and telling them to fix it.
We’re also having some trouble with our programmable thermostat. It keeps turning itself off. I’ve never had anything to do with it so this one is definitely not my fault, but it’s still annoying.
Also annoying are the multitudes of crab apples that fall on our driveway every day. Adam rakes/shovels/brooms them off to the side every evening but there always seem to be more the next morning. And you run them over, squish them, step in them. It smells like rotting apple juice. He informed me last night that the tree will be coming down.
Home-ownership is never dull I guess.
But the weekend was pretty dull considering what’s going on this week. Adam had 3-on-3 all day Saturday. I opted not to go to church with him but I did join him and the rest of the group for dinner at (of all places) Good Company afterwards. We sat back in the French Quarter which is where our rehearsal dinner will be on Thursday. We were on one end of the room with two bachelorette parties occupying the rest of the room. I was the one who pointed out the bride-to-be’s veil adorned with plastic penises (peni?), which is pretty traditional these days, but apparently shocked some of the other people in our group. One of the guys at our table heckled the nearest partiers. It was kind of creepy in a dirty old man kind of way and I’m certainly glad I wasn’t on the other side of it all. Ick. Anyway, by my observations there were no fewer than 4 different bachelorette parties going on while we were there. Must be wedding season.
Sunday was a lazy day. We did some quick shopping in the morning (needed color ink for the printer for the gift card box – dude that’s expensive!) before Adam left to go help with clean-up at the church. I did a little clearance rack shopping at Kohl’s and Shopko and managed to pick up some shirts. After returning home I watched some Sex in the City to kill time before Adam got back home. We just kind of hung out all afternoon. Adam grilled out some steaks for dinner and I actually ate (a very well done, non-mooing) one. He joked that he wanted to take a picture to prove I ate steak but he didn’t. He got pay-per-view wrestling so I spent the evening watching Finding Nemo on the Disney Channel. That’s about it.
The fun starts on Wednesday.
Headcount is final so, please, no more RSVPs from irresponsible, rude, unable to plan ahead people. You can’t come. Place cards are done, numbered, and alphabetized. Itineraries are done, copies of passports and flight plans are made. Pet care instructions for Katie and Chris are done.
I will pick up our marriage license at lunch today. I will go to the bank to get a wad of cash for the honeymoon. Hmm. Perhaps I shouldn’t announce that. It might make me a target for the throngs of people who read this blog.
Anyway, I haven’t started packing yet. Well, the suitcases are out and ready against the wall in the bedroom and I did throw a bottle of shampoo in it. I don’t think that counts. I’ve got one or two more rounds with the washer before we leave so I’m going to probably pack two or three times.
Speaking of the washer, I did some laundry on Saturday afternoon and when I went to start the dryer the knob thing to start it fell off in my hand. Luckily it still started but I was left with a semi-broken dryer. I kind of forgot about it until yesterday when I did the other half of the laundry. Luckily Adam was still home when I remembered it so he could come down and look at it. He took apart the top panel and discovered a piece of plastic had broken off. He used some plastic glue or something from his modeling stuff and it looks like that might work. Otherwise we’d be calling Lowe’s and telling them to fix it.
We’re also having some trouble with our programmable thermostat. It keeps turning itself off. I’ve never had anything to do with it so this one is definitely not my fault, but it’s still annoying.
Also annoying are the multitudes of crab apples that fall on our driveway every day. Adam rakes/shovels/brooms them off to the side every evening but there always seem to be more the next morning. And you run them over, squish them, step in them. It smells like rotting apple juice. He informed me last night that the tree will be coming down.
Home-ownership is never dull I guess.
But the weekend was pretty dull considering what’s going on this week. Adam had 3-on-3 all day Saturday. I opted not to go to church with him but I did join him and the rest of the group for dinner at (of all places) Good Company afterwards. We sat back in the French Quarter which is where our rehearsal dinner will be on Thursday. We were on one end of the room with two bachelorette parties occupying the rest of the room. I was the one who pointed out the bride-to-be’s veil adorned with plastic penises (peni?), which is pretty traditional these days, but apparently shocked some of the other people in our group. One of the guys at our table heckled the nearest partiers. It was kind of creepy in a dirty old man kind of way and I’m certainly glad I wasn’t on the other side of it all. Ick. Anyway, by my observations there were no fewer than 4 different bachelorette parties going on while we were there. Must be wedding season.
Sunday was a lazy day. We did some quick shopping in the morning (needed color ink for the printer for the gift card box – dude that’s expensive!) before Adam left to go help with clean-up at the church. I did a little clearance rack shopping at Kohl’s and Shopko and managed to pick up some shirts. After returning home I watched some Sex in the City to kill time before Adam got back home. We just kind of hung out all afternoon. Adam grilled out some steaks for dinner and I actually ate (a very well done, non-mooing) one. He joked that he wanted to take a picture to prove I ate steak but he didn’t. He got pay-per-view wrestling so I spent the evening watching Finding Nemo on the Disney Channel. That’s about it.
The fun starts on Wednesday.
Saturday, August 11, 2007
A Discovery
I was just going through the closet o' wedding crap to get it organized for the chaos that is next week Thursday and Friday and I noticed our bears. They were still naked in their "take me home" boxes. So I got them dressed. Keep an eye out for these cuties at the reception:
T-6
One of the results of Thursday's meeting with the reception hall was that I had to go find a box for cards at the reception since the ones they had were rejects from previous weddings which the guy assured me were all hideous. So this morning I made it my goal to find an un-hideous version, for cheap. I started at Party America. They are still in the process of re-doing their store so things are all over the place and kind of crazy. I saw a lot of wedding stuff, but no boxes. I then headed to Walmart. Once again lots of wedding stuff, no boxes. I was about to go to Hobby Lobby when I remembered there's a WEDDING SUPPLIES STORE on Wisconsin Avenue. Perhaps I should go to the WEDDING SUPPLIES STORE for the WEDDING SUPPLIES I'm looking for.
Duh.
I walked in, was promptly greeted by a nice employee who pointed me in the direction of their card box section(!) I was in and out in about 2 minutes and spent $15. *sigh* Do I always make things harder than they need to be or is that a recent development?
Anyway, final haircut was done last night. I threatened the stylist with death if she screwed up which she found hilarious for some reason. Luckily for her she took off the teensiest bit and it looks fine.
I dug out our suitcases last night to start packing and noticed that Adam's is significantly larger than mine is. I suppose this could be ok since his clothes are significantly larger than mine are but I think I might have to put some stuff in his anyway. Aren't you supposed to pack half and half anyway in case one bag is lost?
As the final hours approach we have been thrown another curveball. Adam's uncle, Craig, lives in Florida and was planning on flying up and was going to read one of the bible passages for us since he's also Adam's godfather. This week he managed to mess his knee up and no longer feels comfortable making the trip. Perfectly understandable. But this leaves us one reader short. Last night I called my uncle John (who happens to be a pastor so he's a pro) and left him a message asking him if he'd like to take over the job. I'm hoping to hear back from him today but my dad tells me he's notoriously hard to get a hold of so I might have to track him down via my aunt, Kris. If he declines (or never responds) I guess we'll have to take a look at the list and see who else we can recruit. Kind of reminds me of Katie's wedding where Adam volunteered my services at the last minute when one of their readers went MIA. Never a dull moment. And Adam's mom had just printed all the programs...
I'll have to re-do the seating a little to adjust for this change but I hadn't put table numbers on the cards yet so it's not a big deal. That's on my list for tomorrow.
Duh.
I walked in, was promptly greeted by a nice employee who pointed me in the direction of their card box section(!) I was in and out in about 2 minutes and spent $15. *sigh* Do I always make things harder than they need to be or is that a recent development?
Anyway, final haircut was done last night. I threatened the stylist with death if she screwed up which she found hilarious for some reason. Luckily for her she took off the teensiest bit and it looks fine.
I dug out our suitcases last night to start packing and noticed that Adam's is significantly larger than mine is. I suppose this could be ok since his clothes are significantly larger than mine are but I think I might have to put some stuff in his anyway. Aren't you supposed to pack half and half anyway in case one bag is lost?
As the final hours approach we have been thrown another curveball. Adam's uncle, Craig, lives in Florida and was planning on flying up and was going to read one of the bible passages for us since he's also Adam's godfather. This week he managed to mess his knee up and no longer feels comfortable making the trip. Perfectly understandable. But this leaves us one reader short. Last night I called my uncle John (who happens to be a pastor so he's a pro) and left him a message asking him if he'd like to take over the job. I'm hoping to hear back from him today but my dad tells me he's notoriously hard to get a hold of so I might have to track him down via my aunt, Kris. If he declines (or never responds) I guess we'll have to take a look at the list and see who else we can recruit. Kind of reminds me of Katie's wedding where Adam volunteered my services at the last minute when one of their readers went MIA. Never a dull moment. And Adam's mom had just printed all the programs...
I'll have to re-do the seating a little to adjust for this change but I hadn't put table numbers on the cards yet so it's not a big deal. That's on my list for tomorrow.
Friday, August 10, 2007
T-7
So the meeting for the reception hall last night wasn’t so horrible. The guy seems nice enough and even though apparently the previous person left no information about our choices I think we worked it all out. We had to go over color schemes and table set-ups again (that would be the third time for this now.) We confirmed our totally awesome buffet choices and verified that none of the pricing had changed. In an unexpected good news moment he informed us that he wouldn’t charge us the $2 surcharge for being under 75 people since we were so close (we’re at 71.) So that’s nice. We talked about room set-up and confirmed that the divider/foyer wall will be in place so we can make a dramatic entrance. All of our questions were answered and fortunately the answers didn’t create much extra work for me.
In another unexpected good news moment Adam’s mom told us she was going to pay for the champagne toast even though originally she hadn’t even wanted there to be one. So that was nice too. Our part of the estimated bill will be paid next Thursday when we stop by to decorate the hall with our floating candles, favors, and various other items. I was relieved to hear that they have nothing scheduled for the day before our wedding because that leaves us time to make sure everything is done the way we want. This makes next Thursday a pretty busy day for me but it should all work out.
After returning home and dumping a garbage can full of crab apples from the driveway in the dumpsters back at our old apartment building (shhh, don’t tell anyone!) I sat myself down in front of the computer and took care of our cruise registration and finished up the itineraries that will be given to the parental units at the rehearsal dinner. The printer was unnecessarily crabby (a color cartridge error even though I was printing in black and white) and the NCL website keeps losing my account information, but eventually everything got done. Then I could spend some quality time with a couple cuddly furry guys (ok, so three if you include Adam, but he was in the living room watching wrestling.)
Adam got a hold of the DJ this morning to confirm some stuff that was dependent on the results of the meeting last night. I’ll be calling La Sure’s about the cake this afternoon. My last pre-wedding haircut is tonight. The weekend should be pretty low-key. Adam has 3-on-3 tonight and all day tomorrow. I’ll be joining him after the tournament for 4:30 mass and then dinner afterwards. Sunday is clean-up and I’m staying away from that. Just a few things on my to-do list for this weekend and the beginning of next week. Then I should be set to shift into super high gear on Wednesday and Thursday.
Woo
In another unexpected good news moment Adam’s mom told us she was going to pay for the champagne toast even though originally she hadn’t even wanted there to be one. So that was nice too. Our part of the estimated bill will be paid next Thursday when we stop by to decorate the hall with our floating candles, favors, and various other items. I was relieved to hear that they have nothing scheduled for the day before our wedding because that leaves us time to make sure everything is done the way we want. This makes next Thursday a pretty busy day for me but it should all work out.
After returning home and dumping a garbage can full of crab apples from the driveway in the dumpsters back at our old apartment building (shhh, don’t tell anyone!) I sat myself down in front of the computer and took care of our cruise registration and finished up the itineraries that will be given to the parental units at the rehearsal dinner. The printer was unnecessarily crabby (a color cartridge error even though I was printing in black and white) and the NCL website keeps losing my account information, but eventually everything got done. Then I could spend some quality time with a couple cuddly furry guys (ok, so three if you include Adam, but he was in the living room watching wrestling.)
Adam got a hold of the DJ this morning to confirm some stuff that was dependent on the results of the meeting last night. I’ll be calling La Sure’s about the cake this afternoon. My last pre-wedding haircut is tonight. The weekend should be pretty low-key. Adam has 3-on-3 tonight and all day tomorrow. I’ll be joining him after the tournament for 4:30 mass and then dinner afterwards. Sunday is clean-up and I’m staying away from that. Just a few things on my to-do list for this weekend and the beginning of next week. Then I should be set to shift into super high gear on Wednesday and Thursday.
Woo
Thursday, August 09, 2007
T-8
Final dress fittings are done and over with. The easing of the neckline on my dress worked fine and it fits as good as it will. Catherine’s dress also fit quite well (whew!) with just a minor stitch or two in the back to prevent it from poking out weird. Off to be pressed and I’ll pick them up next Wednesday.
The shoe issue is also taken care of. They look pretty good with the dress (whew again!)
I was worried they’d be too shiny but they go well with the beads on the edges of the tiers and straps.
An unforeseen issue has come up though. Ok, perhaps not unforeseen, but something I hadn’t thought about. Catherine W. questioned my "no nylons" stance since their dresses are just below the knee and also asked about toes. Since my feet are covered I hadn’t given too much thought to legs and toes. My sister doesn’t want to wear nylons and my concern with them is that the dresses are so sheer and light that you’ll probably be able to see where the hose cut off at your waist. I don’t know. Catherine W. is right when she says they make you look more polished and neither of them have tan legs so we might enter ghostly pale territory in pictures. I have a little time to think about my options still I suppose. I just want them to be comfortable both temperature-wise and appearance-wise.
In any case, the one meeting I’m worried about is tonight – the reception hall. They’ve had a lot of changes in management and we’ve dealt with two other people before this new guy. I hope everyone has communicated amongst themselves and all our previous negotiations and request have been carried through the change process. We’ve got a list of questions to get answered and I’m hoping it all works out splendidly.
I’ll probably regret saying this, but everything has worked out pretty well so far (knock on the hugest piece of wood on earth…) There was a minor flower thing (purple hyacinths were unavailable) but that was no biggie since they were just accent flowers that were easily replaced with delphinium. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how tonight goes so we know if I can relax yet.
Current (and hopefully final) headcount is at 75, including 4 babies. So we didn’t really make our minimum but since it costs more to pay for 71 than it would for 75 (there’s a $2 surcharge per plate if under the minimum) I’m hoping they’ll let us fudge it a little.
We got so close… a lot closer than I had expected considering the pathetic response rate we were at back when the RSVP were due. I was just amazed by the number of people who didn’t get the cards back to us on time (or at all.) I can’t attribute them all to flat out rudeness. Some of these people got a pass since I knew they were busy or had other things on their minds. But some I just can’t understand. How hard is it to put a check mark on a line and seal an envelope? You didn’t even need a stamp. And the post office comes to your house. Grrr. Know how to not forget about it or lose it (as was the excuse for the majority of these late responders)? Do it right away. Duh. Ok enough about that. I know it’s like beating a dead horse. There are two kinds of people in the world - polite ones and rude ones.
The shoe issue is also taken care of. They look pretty good with the dress (whew again!)
I was worried they’d be too shiny but they go well with the beads on the edges of the tiers and straps.
An unforeseen issue has come up though. Ok, perhaps not unforeseen, but something I hadn’t thought about. Catherine W. questioned my "no nylons" stance since their dresses are just below the knee and also asked about toes. Since my feet are covered I hadn’t given too much thought to legs and toes. My sister doesn’t want to wear nylons and my concern with them is that the dresses are so sheer and light that you’ll probably be able to see where the hose cut off at your waist. I don’t know. Catherine W. is right when she says they make you look more polished and neither of them have tan legs so we might enter ghostly pale territory in pictures. I have a little time to think about my options still I suppose. I just want them to be comfortable both temperature-wise and appearance-wise.
In any case, the one meeting I’m worried about is tonight – the reception hall. They’ve had a lot of changes in management and we’ve dealt with two other people before this new guy. I hope everyone has communicated amongst themselves and all our previous negotiations and request have been carried through the change process. We’ve got a list of questions to get answered and I’m hoping it all works out splendidly.
I’ll probably regret saying this, but everything has worked out pretty well so far (knock on the hugest piece of wood on earth…) There was a minor flower thing (purple hyacinths were unavailable) but that was no biggie since they were just accent flowers that were easily replaced with delphinium. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how tonight goes so we know if I can relax yet.
Current (and hopefully final) headcount is at 75, including 4 babies. So we didn’t really make our minimum but since it costs more to pay for 71 than it would for 75 (there’s a $2 surcharge per plate if under the minimum) I’m hoping they’ll let us fudge it a little.
We got so close… a lot closer than I had expected considering the pathetic response rate we were at back when the RSVP were due. I was just amazed by the number of people who didn’t get the cards back to us on time (or at all.) I can’t attribute them all to flat out rudeness. Some of these people got a pass since I knew they were busy or had other things on their minds. But some I just can’t understand. How hard is it to put a check mark on a line and seal an envelope? You didn’t even need a stamp. And the post office comes to your house. Grrr. Know how to not forget about it or lose it (as was the excuse for the majority of these late responders)? Do it right away. Duh. Ok enough about that. I know it’s like beating a dead horse. There are two kinds of people in the world - polite ones and rude ones.
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
T-9
We successfully applied for our marriage license yesterday afternoon. It’s a pretty painless process. We spent more time sitting on a bench waiting than we did inside the office filing paperwork. There was a line - must be a popular time to get hitched. In any case, I’ll be stopping by on Monday during lunch to pick it up since there’s a 5-day waiting period.
We also had our final meeting with the photographer last night. We planned out posed pictures, set a loose time-table and talked about what we wanted to have documented and what we didn’t care about. Then he took us into the back room where they have the huge printers and showed Adam some pictures he took of a brand new private plane built out at the airport across from Adam’s work.
Other than that the evening was pretty dull. We stopped home quickly between the court house and the photographer to check mail and drop my car off. We ate a fast-paced dinner at Applebee’s. We did some shopping to prepare for being gone for a week+ and some prep work for this weekend’s 3-on-3 at the church. That’s about it.
We also had our final meeting with the photographer last night. We planned out posed pictures, set a loose time-table and talked about what we wanted to have documented and what we didn’t care about. Then he took us into the back room where they have the huge printers and showed Adam some pictures he took of a brand new private plane built out at the airport across from Adam’s work.
Other than that the evening was pretty dull. We stopped home quickly between the court house and the photographer to check mail and drop my car off. We ate a fast-paced dinner at Applebee’s. We did some shopping to prepare for being gone for a week+ and some prep work for this weekend’s 3-on-3 at the church. That’s about it.
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Failure
I tried. I really did. But I just couldn’t do it.
Blood Diamond had been sitting on the end table by the couch since last week and I was determined to watch it. I popped it in the DVD player last night after Adam went to his 3-on-3 meeting. From 00:00:01 it was violence, warfare, and Leo with a bad accent. I made it through about 45 minutes before I threw in the towel. And this movie is almost 2 ½ hours long.
I admit defeat. I really didn’t care if they recovered the big diamond and righted all wrongs. I was just tired of people randomly driving up in trucks and taking out whole villages. I know this is the reality for too much of the world but I guess I’m one of those people who prefer to escape into a better reality by watching movies.
There are probably a few others still on the list that might have this same fate but I’m honestly trying to sit through them all. Perhaps this is the Cinderella Man for this year…
Still on the list to watch:
Children of Men
Curse of the Golden Flower
Dreamgirls
The Good German
Happy Feet
The Last King of Scotland
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Queen
Venus
Volver
I actually started Venus a while back but had to return it before I could watch it all. That was during the house-buying/cleaning/moving time period.
Blood Diamond had been sitting on the end table by the couch since last week and I was determined to watch it. I popped it in the DVD player last night after Adam went to his 3-on-3 meeting. From 00:00:01 it was violence, warfare, and Leo with a bad accent. I made it through about 45 minutes before I threw in the towel. And this movie is almost 2 ½ hours long.
I admit defeat. I really didn’t care if they recovered the big diamond and righted all wrongs. I was just tired of people randomly driving up in trucks and taking out whole villages. I know this is the reality for too much of the world but I guess I’m one of those people who prefer to escape into a better reality by watching movies.
There are probably a few others still on the list that might have this same fate but I’m honestly trying to sit through them all. Perhaps this is the Cinderella Man for this year…
Still on the list to watch:
Children of Men
Curse of the Golden Flower
Dreamgirls
The Good German
Happy Feet
The Last King of Scotland
Letters from Iwo Jima
Little Children
Notes on a Scandal
Pan’s Labyrinth
The Pursuit of Happyness
The Queen
Venus
Volver
I actually started Venus a while back but had to return it before I could watch it all. That was during the house-buying/cleaning/moving time period.
Monday, August 06, 2007
It's a Zoo out there...
This past weekend was full of ignoring the Big Event approaching and having fun in other ways.
Adam had a fiscal year-end get together for his team at work on Friday evening. It was at Willie Beamon’s so I was fine going along. We had some drinks and some food. I tried to be adventurous and ordered a Caesar chicken wrap instead of my usual chicken tenders (which are really good there!) Somehow red onions ended up in the wrap and after double checking that the menu had said nothing about onions, I complained (ok, so I had Adam complain for me) and they made me another one. Which I took home and ate yesterday.
The highlight of the evening was when one of Adam’s coworkers showed up and attempted the mad cow burger challenge: a massive burger with pounds of toppings, a huge bun, and a pile of fries. Eat it in 30 minutes and it’s free. He made it through the burger in impressive time but couldn’t do the fries. It was a good time for everyone though, egging him on and cracking jokes about his toilet.
Saturday morning we woke up too early. We pondered what to do with our day and decided to call my Dad et al and see if they wanted to go to the Milwaukee Zoo with us. We called them a little before 8 and apparently woke them all up. Whoops. Catherine agreed to join us on our mini-vacation so after getting dressed and turning around to get the camera we forgot to bring with us we headed to Sheboygan Falls and picked her up. A stop at Arby’s in Port Washington got Adam and me a little lunch and some time to look through all of Catherine’s Guatemala pictures.
We made it to the Zoo a little before 1 and although the line to get into the parking lot seemed long, there were actually plenty of spots open relatively close to the entrance. I wanted to beeline to the Shark and Sting Ray Reef since that’s really the reason we went down in the first place. It happened to be all the way across the Zoo from where we parked. We finally made our way there and paid the $2 to get in. I couldn’t reach the shark. I don’t know how any kids could either since I’m hoping my arms aren’t disproportionately short. Adam had luck of course with his big monkey arms. (Heh, he hates it when I call them that.) Anywho, we headed to the Sting Rays and I didn’t even attempt to try and pet them. I didn’t want to fall into the water. I did get some video of Adam and the pack swimming by.
After washing off our hands we headed back out to the rest of the zoo. Nothing particularly spectacular to report really. They did have two koalas that were cutely asleep when we visited them.
We skipped the big cats since we were getting close on time and wanted to stop by Sprecher’s on the way back. Here are some highlights:
See all the pictures here.
As previously mentioned, we made a quick stop at Sprecher’s Brewery on the way back home. We then headed back to Sheboygan Falls in off-and-on showers. We stayed for dinner and then headed back home.
Sunday we woke up too early again and Adam spent most of his day getting supplies for and re-screening the windows in our bedroom. I did all kinds of random stuff and didn’t get around to doing anything wedding-related. Yay! This means my wedding to-do list is exactly the same length today as it was on Friday. *sigh* I plan to get four or five things checked off tonight hopefully. Luckily time is running out so I can’t procrastinate for much longer.
This week is full of final meetings, confirmations, and our last round of painful dispensations of money. Tomorrow we’ll be sneaking out of work early and heading to the court house to get our marriage license. Then we have our last meeting with the photographer where we’ll pay off his balance (ouch) and go through shot lists and schedules. Wednesday is Catherine’s dress fitting and my final fitting. Hopefully all goes well there since there’s not a lot of time for error. Thursday is our meeting with the reception hall. We’re meeting with their new guy, who neither of us has met, and he seems to be kind of a dick. Hopefully my first (phone) impressions are mistaken since I don’t really want to have to put up with surprises or conflicts this late into the game. On Friday I’ll be calling everyone else, La Sure’s and the DJ, to finalize schedules and work out any outstanding questions and details. I figure this leaves me with next weekend, Monday, and Tuesday to have millions of worst case scenarios run through my head. I already had one dream on Saturday in which all of our guests (including the wedding party) came down with the stomach flu and no one came to the ceremony or reception. Although I blame this more on a Travel Channel show I watched about bad cruises than wedding jitters…
Anyway, everything is under control. So much so that I find myself standing in the guest room, staring at the closet full of wedding stuff, wondering if I’ve forgotten to do something. My theknot.com checklist has 24 things on it and most of them are being taken care of this week. If I’ve missed something I don’t know what it is. I think I’m just a little crazy.
Adam had a fiscal year-end get together for his team at work on Friday evening. It was at Willie Beamon’s so I was fine going along. We had some drinks and some food. I tried to be adventurous and ordered a Caesar chicken wrap instead of my usual chicken tenders (which are really good there!) Somehow red onions ended up in the wrap and after double checking that the menu had said nothing about onions, I complained (ok, so I had Adam complain for me) and they made me another one. Which I took home and ate yesterday.
The highlight of the evening was when one of Adam’s coworkers showed up and attempted the mad cow burger challenge: a massive burger with pounds of toppings, a huge bun, and a pile of fries. Eat it in 30 minutes and it’s free. He made it through the burger in impressive time but couldn’t do the fries. It was a good time for everyone though, egging him on and cracking jokes about his toilet.
Saturday morning we woke up too early. We pondered what to do with our day and decided to call my Dad et al and see if they wanted to go to the Milwaukee Zoo with us. We called them a little before 8 and apparently woke them all up. Whoops. Catherine agreed to join us on our mini-vacation so after getting dressed and turning around to get the camera we forgot to bring with us we headed to Sheboygan Falls and picked her up. A stop at Arby’s in Port Washington got Adam and me a little lunch and some time to look through all of Catherine’s Guatemala pictures.
We made it to the Zoo a little before 1 and although the line to get into the parking lot seemed long, there were actually plenty of spots open relatively close to the entrance. I wanted to beeline to the Shark and Sting Ray Reef since that’s really the reason we went down in the first place. It happened to be all the way across the Zoo from where we parked. We finally made our way there and paid the $2 to get in. I couldn’t reach the shark. I don’t know how any kids could either since I’m hoping my arms aren’t disproportionately short. Adam had luck of course with his big monkey arms. (Heh, he hates it when I call them that.) Anywho, we headed to the Sting Rays and I didn’t even attempt to try and pet them. I didn’t want to fall into the water. I did get some video of Adam and the pack swimming by.
After washing off our hands we headed back out to the rest of the zoo. Nothing particularly spectacular to report really. They did have two koalas that were cutely asleep when we visited them.
We skipped the big cats since we were getting close on time and wanted to stop by Sprecher’s on the way back. Here are some highlights:
See all the pictures here.
As previously mentioned, we made a quick stop at Sprecher’s Brewery on the way back home. We then headed back to Sheboygan Falls in off-and-on showers. We stayed for dinner and then headed back home.
Sunday we woke up too early again and Adam spent most of his day getting supplies for and re-screening the windows in our bedroom. I did all kinds of random stuff and didn’t get around to doing anything wedding-related. Yay! This means my wedding to-do list is exactly the same length today as it was on Friday. *sigh* I plan to get four or five things checked off tonight hopefully. Luckily time is running out so I can’t procrastinate for much longer.
This week is full of final meetings, confirmations, and our last round of painful dispensations of money. Tomorrow we’ll be sneaking out of work early and heading to the court house to get our marriage license. Then we have our last meeting with the photographer where we’ll pay off his balance (ouch) and go through shot lists and schedules. Wednesday is Catherine’s dress fitting and my final fitting. Hopefully all goes well there since there’s not a lot of time for error. Thursday is our meeting with the reception hall. We’re meeting with their new guy, who neither of us has met, and he seems to be kind of a dick. Hopefully my first (phone) impressions are mistaken since I don’t really want to have to put up with surprises or conflicts this late into the game. On Friday I’ll be calling everyone else, La Sure’s and the DJ, to finalize schedules and work out any outstanding questions and details. I figure this leaves me with next weekend, Monday, and Tuesday to have millions of worst case scenarios run through my head. I already had one dream on Saturday in which all of our guests (including the wedding party) came down with the stomach flu and no one came to the ceremony or reception. Although I blame this more on a Travel Channel show I watched about bad cruises than wedding jitters…
Anyway, everything is under control. So much so that I find myself standing in the guest room, staring at the closet full of wedding stuff, wondering if I’ve forgotten to do something. My theknot.com checklist has 24 things on it and most of them are being taken care of this week. If I’ve missed something I don’t know what it is. I think I’m just a little crazy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
