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jeffreypratt
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| Blogging is hard |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|01:51 pm] |
I've been reading "The Reagan Diaries" and thinking about how Reagan's daily diary entry was essentially a low-tech (and until recently, private) blog post.
My frequency of posts per month/year/whatever has declined to the point where I'm somewhat worried about Livejournal deleting all of this. I need to find a way to back up my blog so that I can refer to all of this once Livejournal is long gone (RSS hacking begins in 5...4...3...).
I blame two things for the slow death of this blog, both of which are entirely positive developments:
- Facebook. Facebook is the living embodiment of Metcalfe's Law. I've reconnected with childhood friends, learned more about my wife's (large) family than I ever could have at a once-a-year Christmas party, kept up with my own once-distant relatives, and much more. Facebook is how I stay in touch when I am traveling. With the blog, everything I say is immediately public. With Facebook, only the people I care about get to see it. I prefer making a jackass of myself among friends and family, so I prefer Facebook.
- Marriage. Marriage changed my priorities in life on so many levels. I much prefer spending time with my wife to surfing around on the internet (oh, and my wife is also--wait for it--on Facebook). I think one of the things that prompted me to start blogging in the first place was that I wanted to leave a legacy of some kind. As a single man, I was scared of "what happens after". Those fears are gone now. It is a very nice feeling.
Oh, and "The Reagan Diaries" is fascinating, even if you (like me) are not so much a fan of his politics. Reagan was one of only three U.S. presidents to keep a diary, but the only modern president and the only one to diligently make an entry virtually every day of his presidency. It is a weird trip down memory/history lane, and if anything, I think it makes Reagan sound eerily detached from most presidential business. He got very fired up about communism and the Soviet Union in particular, and he also was very cute whenever Nancy traveled--he complained about being lonely, or the White House feeling empty, etc. He also seemed to watch 1-2 movies per week, and usually commented about the movie.
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| Summertime and the livin' is easy |
[Jun. 1st, 2009|08:41 pm] |
We got a barbeque and we've been trying our hands at cooking all sorts of various things. I want to start chronicling the stuff that worked and the stuff that failed.
WINNERS:
1. Turkey burgers. Ground turkey, chopped red/green/yellow/orange peppers, onion, maybe a little garlic and blue cheese. Form it into patties and slap 'em on the grill, about six minutes per side. Cooking spray helps keep them from sticking, and the vegetable/blue cheese keeps the patties from drying out.
2. Grilled peaches. Cut peaches in half and remove the pits. Grill them cut side down for five minutes or so (we had small peaches). This would be yummy served with vanilla ice cream and a nice riesling.
3. Corn on the cob. No prep work required, other than soaking the corn in water for 10 minutes or so. Put them on the grill in the husks and turn frequently for about 20 minutes.
STILL WORKING ON IT:
1. Halibut. We made a mustard glaze but we overcooked the fish, leaving it very dry. If we do this again, we'll only cook the fish for 4-5 minutes per side and save the glaze for the very end.
2. Pork chops. I made the mistake of trimming too much fat from the chops, so they turned out extremely dry. The glaze was a winner, though--brown sugar, soy sauce, dijon/sweet mustard, a dash of salt and pepper...and bourbon. Yummy.
3. Beef tenderloin. I wrapped them in bacon, since there wasn't much fat on them. But I didn't grill them long enough (the cuts were 2" thick) and they turned out kinda disgustingly rare. Next time, I'll check the insides on the grill before serving to avoid unpleasant surprises.
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| Fun with home improvement |
[Feb. 1st, 2009|03:26 pm] |
We had an electrical outlet here at the condo that had worn out. It was driving me nuts--the lower outlet wouldn't provide constant power, so anything plugged into it would flicker, and the top outlet wouldn't hold a plug. So I thought, "Okay, replace it." Easy, right? Just buy a new one and plug the wires into the new one, same as the old one. Right?
No.
I expected to see two black wires, two white wires and a ground wire. Instead, I found THREE black wires, THREE white wires and a ground wire. All of them were plugged into the back of the outlet.
It took a fair amount of web searching etc. to determine that the outlet was being used as a bridge. I'd never seen this done before. Two of the three black wires were providing power to the switch, and the third was continuing the circuit. To complicate matters further, you can't buy an outlet like our old one anymore.
So what to do with the one extra black and one extra white wire? I'm still not convinced that I did this correctly, but I ended up buying some wire ties and extra wire. I pigtailed and tied two of the three black wires together with a short length of the extra wire, and ran the extra wire to the outlet along with the third wire coming out of the box. I repeated with the white wires. And it seems to work.
This took me like three hours and two trips to the hardware store. At least I didn't electrocute myself across the room this time. |
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| 2008 Review |
[Dec. 31st, 2008|08:04 am] |
It has become a tradition for me to sit down at the end of the year and review everything that has happened, which helps set the tone for the coming year. This year has been awesome.
Life: I got married in July. Best...thing...ever. I spent January scheming about how/where to pop the question, and then we (mostly Emily) spent February-July planning the wedding. We spent two weeks on a honeymoon and then set about our next project: finding a house. The house hunt has been somewhat frustrating--lots of junk on the market, lenders changing their minds constantly, etc. But we both enjoy the challenge and I'm sure the house we eventually buy will be awesome.
I joined Weight Watchers on December 30, 2007 and proceeded to lose almost 30 pounds between January and the end of June. In the process of enjoying life, I've put 10 pounds back on, but I've got some fitness and diet goals for the new year that should get me back on track. I'd like to lose another 30-40 pounds.
After training for several months, I ran the Seafair Half Marathon in June in ungodly oppressive heat. It was 70+ degrees at the start and 90 degrees at the finish. Insanity, but I finished it. Then, I ran the Seattle Half Marathon in November, and without training nearly as hard, I improved my time by about five minutes. It is good to have an event like that scheduled--it forces me to get out and train, go to the gym at night, etc.
Work: Not a good year at the office. I decided to stop managing people because a) the team I was managing no longer needed to exist, and b) my confidence was at an all-time low. I moved into an individual contributor position where I did--well, not much. That's mostly my fault. For most of the year, I've either felt stuck in a vacuum where I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing, or worse, beholden to two masters who both have differing opinions of what I should be doing. It has been a whole year straight out of a Dilbert cartoon. It will be critical for me to fix this situation somehow in the new year--and quick.
Travel: No international travel this year, save for the trip to Canada when I asked Emily to marry me, and a second trip to Canada for a bachelor party weekend. I spent a week in Kennewick for work, and we went wine tasting in the Yakima Valley for a nice weekend. We also went to Hawaii for two weeks (one week on Maui and one week on the Big Island) for our honeymoon, and spent a few days in New Orleans. I loved New Orleans and wouldn't mind going back some day.
Charity: I donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and the Crohn's/Colitis peoeple again. I donated to the MS Society on behalf of my little niece, who was doing a walk to raise money for them. And I'm up to my neck in the YMCA. Last year, I said that I wished for more time to give to them and resolved to get more involved. This year, I'm a little more involved than I actually have time to be involved! Nonetheless, working with the Y is one of the most fulfilling things I get to do. I need to make sure that I control my involvement so that I don't get overwhelmed.
That about sums it up for 2008. I'm looking forward to 2009--life just keeps getting better and better each year!
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| Get yer program! |
[Dec. 8th, 2008|09:33 am] |
I spent a few hours yesterday morning hawking programs at the Seahawks game. This was a fundraising event for the YMCA, who keeps all of the proceeds from sales plus a 100% match from the Paul G. Allen Foundation.
The event went off very well, I think. We had a good turnout of volunteers and it was a lot of fun to get dressed up in a lime green shirt with several dozen other lime green-clad screamers and yell at strangers. But...today, my voice is destroyed--reduced to a warbly barely-audible rasp. Selling programs at a football game is one of those odd jobs with some intricacies that you don't really consider until you've actually tried it:- The program sellers at any random sporting event almost invariably have the same delivery: "Programs! Getcher program!", or some very similar variant. It is a cliche, but a very practical one. I started out with a lengthy rant: "Programs here! Just three dollars! All proceeds go to charity! All proceeds go to kids! Support the YMCA! Programs, three dollars!" And so on. This, of course, wore my voice out very quickly. Also, it took so long to say that most people managed to pass before they could figure out what I was hawking. Keep it short 'n' sweet. Everybody knows the song--"Programs! Getcher program!"
- Comfortable shoes are a must. I should have worn the same shoes I wore in the marathon. You don't walk around a lot but being on your feet can be very tiring.
- Making change is easy, but fumbling around with a giant wad of cash after you've sold a dozen programs is not easy. I started my day with my cash folded in half in my apron, and programs in both hands. Before long, I figured out that having to put down the programs, unfold the cash, do math, etc. was not the best customer service for folks who really just wanted to get to their seats as quickly as possible. So I switched to holding up a single program that could easily be handed to a buyer, and with my other hand, I held the unfolded cash in my apron pocket. I've seen other sellers do this--now I understand why.
- Lemon tea, Ricola, etc. are your best friends.
Now I get to see how bad I hurt my vocal cords. My voice is fading in and out today, but the warm drinks seem to be helping and I'm all wrapped up in a scarf. Hopefully, I don't have to do too much speaking.
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| Seattle Half Marathon |
[Nov. 30th, 2008|02:53 pm] |
Well, that was fun. I really liked the course (especially compared to the hilly beast that was Seafair) and there were a lot of people out having a great time. The weather was great, too--not too warm, not too cold. I wasn't too keen about the scheduling and having to train in the gym/dark while worrying about other projects, but we toughed out the training and used Thanksgiving dinner to store a little extra fat for the run.
I also didn't really set any goals. I've been kinda nuts in the past about goal-setting and race day rituals. This time, I decided to just let it happen because I didn't feel particularly well-trained. For example, I noticed that when I try to carbo-load, I don't feel well the next day, so I skipped that altogether in favor of pizza and beer for dinner last night.
The results? Continuous five minute improvements:
- '07 Seafair: 2:50:54
- '08 Seafair: 2:45:58
- '08 Seattle: 2:40:30
I guess there is something to be said for just doing what feels right.
Here's what the Garmin has to say: http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/7226515
I started feeling a headache coming on right around mile one, and fought it for most of the run. I also had some random aches and pains in my knees, feet and hips from the cement that I don't normally feel because we like training on trails. Oh, and the portable toilets along the course had huge lines...I thought about taking a potty break but I'd see 20 people in line for the Honey Bucket and I'd just keep going. By the time I got to the end, I'd forgotten about it.
Another thing that I enjoyed this time: I bought a hand-held water bottle at the expo and it was a lifesaver because I didn't need to stop at a single water stop. I wonder how much time I wasted before slowing down to walk at each water stop? I really liked being completely self-contained with water and shot blocks.
According to my trusty calorie tracker, I burned just north of 2300 calories during my run today (and it doesn't account for calories burned repairing the damage--the soreness that my doctor likes to call "a little friend who follows you around all day and reminds you that you did something healthy"). That's more food than I eat in two days sometimes, and could explain why I'm dying for nachos right now.
Next up: Vancouver in May. I've always wanted to do the Vancouver run. It will be interesting to see if I can beat a five minute improvement...
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| Revenge of Half Marathon |
[Oct. 14th, 2008|06:30 pm] |
I just registered for the Seattle Half Marathon in November. I've no idea what possesses those people to schedule their endurance event on the weekend immediately following Thanksgiving, but I'm going to give it a try. Last year after Seafair, I didn't run much during the winter and that did not work out so well. This year, with the exception of my honeymoon, I've managed to keep running relatively regularly after Seafair. Now, it's time to get serious about training.
My goal is simple: beat 2:30. I'm still a bit irked that Mother Nature conspired against me at Seafair. Watch--it will snow again. Just my luck, right? |
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| The Honeymooners |
[Jul. 23rd, 2008|03:55 pm] |
We're back. Hawaii was an amazing experience and I had a great time (although two weeks is a long time to be away from home). Some of the highlights:
Needless to say, it was a ton of fun. It feels kinda weird to be home, though, since the house is pretty much exactly as we left it after the wedding so it feels like the wedding just happened. We're diving right back into "real life" by heading back to work tomorrow and making weekend plans...and so it begins. :-) |
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| Married! |
[Jul. 7th, 2008|10:24 am] |
Just married
Originally uploaded by jeffreyp
Our wedding was a complete and total success. We had so much fun. Many people warned us that our wedding day would pass quickly, and I really think that you only understand what that means if you've experienced it firsthand. Time goes by fast enough to make you dizzy! And all of my anxieties turned out to be silly. I didn't cry during the ceremony (although my voice cracked and I had the shakes!). The dance went relatively smoothly. And as near as we can tell, everyone had a great time.
I don't have time to retell the whole story now but it would be a good idea to write down as much as I can while it is all still fresh in my mind. Maybe I can do that on the plane to Hawaii tomorrow. It was just an unforgettable, magical, awesome day in every conceivable way. |
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| T-minus 7 hours |
[Jul. 5th, 2008|09:00 am] |
Today is the big day!
I slept really well last night (save for a bizarre dream about traveling all the way to India only to discover that my visa had expired, and then another weird dream about meeting a troupe of circus performers at a bar in Pioneer Square...very strange). We had a nice, low-key BBQ at my best man's house last night, and from there, it was just a short walk up the hill to a spot where we could watch both fireworks shows.
On Thursday, we had our rehearsal (which I think went really well) and our rehearsal dinner. We both got trashed after the rehearsal dinner, which was probably a good thing to get out of our systems at that time because it saved us from wanting to "celebrate" too much last night.
There was some last minute running around over the last two days, but things have come together nicely. Today, I'm just going to relax and enjoy the ride as much as possible. I hope I don't cry during my own wedding ceremony (an insider tip for the betting folks in the audience--I'd put pretty good odds on tears). I hope I don't boff the dances. Mostly, I hope everyone has a ton of fun. We (well, mostly Emily) have put a ton of time and effort into this event and I hope it turns out to be the best party ever. |
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| Seafair Half Marathon - Post Mortem |
[Jul. 1st, 2008|10:02 am] |
I'm not going to do a mile-by-mile breakdown this year because I just don't have time. But the official results are in, and I'm sorry to say that I finished 180th out of 186 in my age group, which means that I only met one of my three goals. My official time was 2:45:57, and the average temperature throughout the race was in the 70's. Numerous people have commented in the blogosphere and elsewhere that the course this year was significantly more difficult than last year, so I can take some pride in the fact that I was well-trained enough to basically match my time from last year on a much harder/hillier course in friggin' tropical heat. Nonetheless, I am DYING to go out and run 13.1 miles on a nice trail somewhere, just to prove to myself that I can do it in under 2.5 hours.
My hips are a little sore but my legs feel fine and my knees are in great shape. This is a huge improvement from last year when I limped around with an inflamed IT band for a week afterward. I had very sore shoulders immediately after the race, which means that I need to work on my posture. I'm hoping to spend the winter doing some strength training, and my core and shoulders could definitely use the extra attention.
The Seafair race organizers really botched it. They were out of t-shirts at the race expo, which annoyed me. How can you run out of t-shirts when you know exactly how many people registered and what size t-shirt they requested when they registered? The expo was tiny and held in a parking garage--not exactly fun. And then on race day, all hell broke loose. They apparently couldn't get UW to let them use the Husky Stadium parking lots, so they had shuttle buses running from Bellevue to the starting line. Sure enough, they couldn't get all of the runners to the starting line on time. I can't believe nobody saw that coming. They aren't refunding the registration fee for those folks who couldn't get to the starting line on time, which is bogus. Mismanagement all around. Oh, and the water stop at mile 10 was out of cups! Those poor kids were pouring water straight from the bottle into the mouths of passing runners.
On a sunnier note, the people who came out to line the course were awesome--as always. The community participation is always my favorite part of these events. We ran through a neighborhood in south Bellevue and people were out with garden hoses and Otter Pops, cheering us on and having a great time. One house with a big fence had a sprinkler shooting up over the fence onto the course. I yelled "THANK YOU" as I ran through the mist and from behind the fence, an invisible voice replied, "YOU'RE WELCOME!" The kids at the water stops screamed their guts out for us, and the police officers and firefighters who blocked intersections and dealt with angry Bellevue drivers all day are heroes.
I'm not sure what to do next. I know that I can do a half marathon in under 2.5 hours, even though I technically have never done that. I'm not sure what would be accomplished by going out and doing another half marathon just to prove something to myself that I already know. So I can either try to get faster, or try to run farther. I'm really not psyched about the idea of doing a full marathon. I think I just need to relax for a few days, get through my wedding, and use my fabulous Hawaiian vacation to decide what to do next. |
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| OK, all done (again). |
[Jun. 29th, 2008|11:35 am] |
It was H-O-T hot out there today, and as a result, I'm not thrilled with my unofficial Garmin time of 2:45 in today's Seafair Half Marathon. The temperature at the start was about 70 degrees and it was probably 80 when we finished. Too damned hot for a run like that. My time is about 6 minutes faster than last year, which is notable because a) the aforementioned heat really sucked, and b) according to the Garmin, this year's course was about 1000 feet more hilly than last year's course. Hard to imagine, but there it is. I was hoping to take 20-30 minutes off my time from last year, but the heat just made that impossible.
I'm not unhappy with the results given the heat but I know I can do better, so there's that stupid little voice again...
Read all about it by cutting and pasting this URL (because Livejournal apparently forgot how to insert links): http://trail.motionbased.com/trail/activity/6113949
And I finished, which was goal #1. Goal #2 didn't happen; and now, I wait for the official results to see about goal #3. It looked like pretty much everyone else was getting hammered by the heat so maybe I've still got a shot at it. But first, ibuprofen. |
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| Five points make a trend |
[Jun. 28th, 2008|01:49 pm] |
Tomorrow, I'll be getting up crazy early so that I can run 13.1 miles (give or take a few tenths)--my second consecutive year of running the Seafair Half Marathon. The weather, of course, has decided to turn gorgeous with low temperatures in the mid-60's and highs in the 90's. For running, anything over 60 degrees is a scorcher so I'm a bit concerned about the heat. It's funny, because last year I knew that I wasn't well-trained and so I was anxious about finishing. I was also not sure what to expect on the course having never done such a thing before. This year, I know I'm well-trained and I know I can finish and I know what to expect. I have my goals and that's it. Now, the weather is spoiling my calm. I've never had to run in this kind of heat before and the one training run in 70-degree heat didn't go so well. My plan is simply to watch my heart rate, drink a LOT of water (maybe doubling up at every water stop) and try not to keep up with anyone in particular. Take it slow at the start, lock into a good rhythmic pace and just go until it is over. Maybe I'll put songs like "Hot In The City" on my iPod just to make myself laugh.
Meanwhile, we're also wrapping up our last wedding planning bits. To steal a nice phrase from a friend of mine, everything is locked and loaded and we're almost there. In five days, we'll be rehearsing and in seven days, we'll be married. In ten days, we'll be on a beach in Maui drinking pina coladas and relaxing. |
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| Wedding planning, last minute |
[Jun. 22nd, 2008|08:19 pm] |
Tasting
Originally uploaded by jeffreyp
We spent our weekend frantically running errands and getting everything put together for our wedding (which is now less than two weeks away).
The photo here was taken as we desperately tried to find a good white wine for our reception. We've picked a red wine and stocked up on a ton of beer, but the white wine proved elusive. I can say that we've chosen one of the four pictured here, but I won't give away the surprise.
We had a dance lesson on Saturday morning in preparation for our father/daughter, mother/son dance following our first dance. We learned some basic waltz steps and it was a lot of fun!
Emily had her hair and makeup dry run on Saturday afternoon, and since I know nothing about hair and makeup, I tried to stay out of the way as much as possible.
We finalized the seating chart, too. The only things left to do are small details, like making placecards and table numbers. Then, it is just wedding day stress and making sure everything gets decorated. We're almost there! |
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| Wedding planning, 3 weeks to go oh my god need to plan |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|10:02 pm] |
We are officially "down to the wire". I realized today that I have like 13 work days left until my long vacation for our wedding and honeymoon, and only two weekends (one of which will involve running 13.1 miles).
I'll spare the general population of the internet a detailed description of my bachelor party in Vancouver last weekend, except to say that a) I had a great time, b) I'm definitely not sad about leaving the bachelor life behind, and c) I came home to find my fiancee and her mom in full wedding planning mode, with a mock place setting on the coffee table and supplies for favors all laid out.
We ended up spending some time last week folding our little DIY favor boxes and cutting ribbon to wrap them. I don't want to give away any secrets but I will say that I'm pleased with our DIY approach--it worked out great and saved us a ton of money!
The deadline for RSVPs was Saturday but we're still hunting down some folks to get last minute responses. We need to turn in a final headcount to the caterer in short order (I think this weekend), along with our menu.
We've almost finalized our musical selections, with the exception of the song to be played when the bride enters. Neither of us are fond of the traditional Wagner wedding march, but we just can't find a suitable alternative with the appropriate amount of fanfare.
We're writing checks this week for final payments to the caterer, photographer, cake lady and DJ.
The cake lady is a bit of an enigma--she doesn't have a proper business, and so we've been trying to reach her via phone and email to finalize our cake plans but she is never around. It would be safe to say that we're both a tad frustrated and concerned about cake.
I've also been sampling a LOT of wine in hopes of finding a red wine and a white wine of which I can afford 20 cases. I think I've picked a red, but the whites are elusive. The search continues.
Lastly, we've pretty much wrapped up the writing of our ceremony script and passed it off to the officiant for "final review". There are a few more details to add but we're very close.
So, um, yeah. We're busy. |
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| 25 pounds in six months |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|06:13 pm] |
I canceled my subscription to Weight Watchers today. I joined at the very end of December and since January 1, I've lost 25 pounds. Their website, which allowed me to track my food and weight over time, was very helpful to me. I've learned so much about portion sizes and healthy foods thanks to their service, and I'd recommend it to anyone wanting to get started with weight loss.
I still have some weight to lose--probably another 25 pounds. But I'm confident that I can follow the Weight Watchers program on my own, or use one of the free online trackers like Sparkpeople if I need it--which I probably will after my wedding and honeymoon! |
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| WTF?!? |
[May. 27th, 2008|02:14 pm] |
I chipped a tooth this morning. I have no idea how in the world I did it, but it is definitely chipped. I was just sitting in my office, puzzling over some problem, and all of a sudden I tasted what felt like a grain of margarita salt. And when I opened my mouth, I felt something rubbing against my lip and tongue. Using the back of my iPod as a mirror, I was able to confirm that I've cracked #24. I can't remember if I had a filling there, either.
Time to quit biting my nails. That's the only thing I can think of that might have caused it.
Conveniently, I had just scheduled my bi-annual cleaning for this Friday morning, so maybe in addition to the usual treatment, I'll get novocaine and drilling, too. Hooray. |
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| Wedding planning, T-minus 5 weeks |
[May. 25th, 2008|10:05 am] |
We bought our rings this week! Mine looks like this and should be arriving within a week or so. Emily's is a very simple platinum band that fits nicely alongside her engagement ring. Emily also received her wedding dress this week, and I think she was not happy about having to immediately hand it over to the seamstress.
We also realized that we're within the window when we can go to the courthouse and get our marriage license. We're almost there! And now, we're finding that, instead of thinking about big, grand-planning kinds of things, we're now focused on wedding day logistics--who needs to be where and when, etc. We have a draft of our ceremony and we're meeting with our officiant tomorrow to review.
Emily had her bridal shower last weekend and returned home with a bounty of gifts ranging from spa gift certificates to cookware to wine to some items that were (ahem) obviously intended to embarrass. I can't wait to see the photos of the event.
Back to the to-do list! |
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| Let's try this again... |
[May. 17th, 2008|04:25 pm] |
So last year, after running no more than six "long runs", doing virtually no hill or speed training, and never running longer than 10 miles, I completed the Seafair Half Marathon in just under three hours. At the time, I was very proud of this result because I had just started running a few months prior--going from zero to half marathon in about six months was a real accomplishment for me, particularly since my training was so haphazard.
Unfortunately, there was a nagging little voice that wondered how well I'd do if I did try to train properly. The voice got louder earlier this year, when Emily decided to train for the Seafair Half Marathon and joined Team In Training again, and I found that my 5K time had improved ridiculously over last year.
I've been tagging along on most of her training runs this year, and I just registered for the half marathon myself. Last year, I registered on June 16 and it was more of an impulsive thing, but this year, I'm planning for it and training accordingly. Our training has included hill work and lots of trail running, and having lost a ton of weight (20 pounds and counting), I feel much more able to run a long distance this year in a reasonable time. My goals (in roughly descending order of priority) are:
- Finish.
- Finish in under 2:30 (which would be a 20 minute improvement over 2007!). If I can do it in under 2:20, I'll do cartwheels.
- Finish in the middle of the pack for my age group (last year, I was 62/65 but this year I'm in a different age group).
That last goal is a bit of a stretch but that's what goals are for, no? For those keeping score at home, my trusty Garmin is recording every step.
Note that the Seafair Marathon occurs on the Sunday prior to my wedding. Emily and I are nothing if not ambitious/crazy. If only we could figure out a way to work the marathon into our wedding week activities... |
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| Wedding planning, 7.5 weeks to go |
[May. 13th, 2008|09:53 pm] |
Invitations have been mailed and the first RSVPs are coming back! We've also received our first wedding present--a set of awesome Henckels knives that cut through raw carrots like butter. There is always a point when you are planning a big event where the stress of planning gives way to the realization that the event is actually going to happen whether you like it or not, and we've reached that milestone. So of course, I had a bit of a freakout last week because I'm used to Amazon-style project management and I was like, "Shouldn't we be at least talking to the photographer and DJ and cake lady and all of them?" But I was assured that all is well and that everything is happening according to schedule.
We are still working on the script for our ceremony which is--of course--the hardest part. But there are plenty of examples online for us to pilfer and re-word. I'm sure we'll come up with something cool in the next week or so. We're also having a bit of a hard time choosing music for the various parts of the ceremony and reception that require "special" songs. Neither of us are particularly interested in having our first dance to the same B.S. cliche love song that everyone else uses, but we're not having much luck finding a suitable alternative.
We also need to finalize the menu, but since we're scheduled to attend another tasting at the caterer on May 29, we'll probably wait until our parents (who are invited) offer their opinions of the food selections.
I'm told by married friends that the next big emotional milestone is the part where you decide that there is just nothing more you can do, and so you finally relax and enjoy yourself. For us, we're shooting to announce our "done-ness" at the rehearsal dinner. But even now, there really isn't much left to do. We've done a good job and I'm really looking forward to enjoying the fruits of our (well, mostly Emily's) labor. |
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