Cheryl & Chris's Wedding Blog
Saturday, October 23, 2004
Ah, the joys of being in St Louis for wedding stuff. Coming in every couple of months means that certain things MUST be completed before I jet back to Pittsburgh. So today was no exception for accomplishing a fair amount. We started this AM with a trip to get matting for a wedding picture, and gel pens. The idea is instead of signing a guest book, we're going to ask our guests to sign the matting. I shamelessly stole this idea from Kathy, and it was re-enforced when I got to see hers hanging on the wall when we visited in August. Very cool!
Then we went to the stylist to do a trial run on wedding hair. Ladies and gents, I think it's safe to say it will be extremely hard to recognize this ponytail wearing tomboy on December 11. I don't mean to scare anyone, but curling irons, bobby pins and hair spray were all involved. As a matter of fact, judging from my difficulty in attempting to brush it all out later, I would have to guess that I'll be able to repel bullets with the top of my head. The heck with Wonder Woman and her bracelets, just call me super bride. I seem to recall a certain friend's justification for buying a kevlar motorcycle outfit as including the phrase "And it can repel flying nails!" (Ahem). I'm pretty sure my 'do will accomplish the same critical task.
After the stylist, it was off to St Cecilia's to hang out at a wedding and meet with the organist. I messed up the wedding times (I think. Or he told me the wrong time)and got there about an hour later into the wedding than I expected. Oops. But I did at least hear one song that he did, and we got together and finalized the music for the wedding. Mom and I startled Dad by returning from this journey an hour early. Quick! Hide the dancing girls!
Then, not to be daunted by a quick accomplishment of the critical tasks, Mom and I went out shoe shopping. That turned out to be more of an adventure than we thought. Mom found a very lovely bridal shoe for me, but it had about a 3" heel and laced up like a corset. Hmmmmmm.... For Mom, we were trying to find a shoe that matched purple. Alas, this was the only flop of the day, but not all was lost. We did get to eat some lovely pretzels and see some cute doggies up for adoption.
And now...it's late. Tomorrow is a shower, and hopefully a bike ride with Dad. Monday I head home. Sleep tight!
cb
Friday, October 22, 2004
As everyone knows, the apple of Chris’s and my eyes is our handsome dog, Fred. Christmas, 2002, came at the end of a really long, really traumatic 13 months. During that time we had dealt with illness, family tragedy, a car accident, and two emergency room visits. We needed something joyful. Chris had mentioned how much he wanted a dog, thus for his Christmas present, I wrapped a box full of dog bowls, dog food, dog toys, and finally a stuffed dog. Needless to say the day after I put the box under the tree, he started campaigning hard for a dog. He still claims to have swayed me to buy a dog by his campaign. I maintain that it was my idea all along.
We both went to our respective hometowns for Christmas, and when we got back, the great dog search was on. While he was home, his Mom got the world’s cutest puppy, Darcy, so that REALLY whetted his appetite. We walked dogs at the Animal Rescue League, surfed the web, wandered around Pittsburgh Animal Friends, contacted a Malinois breeder, checked out the shiny new Pittsburgh ASPCA, surfed the web some more, Chris went to a shelter that freaked him out called Orphans of the Storm, and I kept surfing the web….
Chris had his heart set on a German Shepherd or a Malinois. I was kind of partial to Golden Retrievers, since the last family dog was a golden retriever mix. But it was his dog, so we were ready to go to the Malinois breeder. That’s when I found Fred on Petfinder.com. He was at the ASPCA about an hour and a half from Pittsburgh. So even though we had an appointment at the Malinois breeder, we headed out to Indiana PA. They actually had a lot of puppies out there. To go see Fred, we had to walk past a cage of 6-week-old Lab/Australian shepherd mix puppies. Anyway, we got to Fred’s cage, and there he was, a ratty 5-month-old puppy with a long scraggly tail. Without a doubt, that was Fred’s teenage month. All he was missing was braces and pimples. We took him outside in the pen to play a bit, and he was a character. But those littler puppies…they were really freaking cute. Poor Chris, he sort of wanted one of the lab/Australian shepherd mixes. I wanted Fred. Even though it was his dog, we ended up with Fred. We had to get sign off from my landlord, so that meant we had to leave Fred behind for a day and a half until I could pay the pet deposit, we could sign paperwork, etc. When we went back, Chris sat in the cage with Fred, glaring at everyone who went past, while I was in the front office filling out paperwork. Until the paperwork was signed, Fred was still able to be adopted by someone else. I sort of envisioned the staff going “The puppy is good tempered, but watch out for the human!!” And after endless processing in which I had to promise to go home at lunch to let Fred out, and they genuinely seemed reluctant to let Fred out of their shelter, we finally coaxed Fred into the back seat of Chris’s Taurus, and we were headed home.
10 days later we had a vet appointment. The night before, Fred started throwing up. A lot. I can now tell you what the phrase “Sick as a dog” means. It means huddled on the kitchen floor, shivering in fear and pain. Fortunately Chris’s teammate, Annie, is an emergency vet. She recommended Pepto Bismol. She was right, but we had the first of many learning experiences that night. Did you know dogs will not drink Pepto straight from the spoon? After about a half an hour in which I got it on my shoes, the walls, and the floor, we had gotten a teaspoonful down. That was enough to settle his stomach a bit, and that night, Chris slept curled upon my sleeper sofa with Fred-dog while I snoozed in a real bed. You can see the kind of mom I’ll be! The next day, we got a shot and medicine from the doctor. Two days later, we figured out the problem, and he got medicine for the worms he must have picked up at the ASPCA.
Since then, he’s grown, gained weight, and filled out. The scraggly clothesline tail is now beautifully feathered. He’s learned the value of flirty eyes when he wants a treat, and he can pick out a beautiful woman in any area. The ASPCA’s 40lb estimate turned out to be halfway there – try 70 – but you couldn’t ask for a sweeter dog. So it all turned out very well, and in less than 2 months, he’ll be legitimate!
Thursday, October 21, 2004
Woohoo! Talking with Tammie always cheers me up. We were talking about voting, and I realized the upside of not having TV at the moment (Cable is gone, haven't connected the antenna). Bear in mind that PA is a swing state, as is OH. But now, we don't have to watch:
"I'm John Kerry, and I authorize this message: Bush Stinks"
"I'm George Bush, and I authorize this message: Kerry Stinks"
"I'm John Kerry, and I authorize this message: Bush Stinks More"
"I'm George Bush, and I authorize this message: Kerry Stinks Twice as much as he says I stink"
"I'm John Kerry, and I authorize this message: I'm rubber and Dubya is glue, anything he says bounces off of me and sticks to...er...him"
"I'm George Bush, and I authorize this message: Neener Neener..."
"Hi, we're a random outside group whom you've also never heard of: W may have not had a spotless military record. As a matter fact, hang on while we type up some proof."
"Hi, you've never heard of us, but Kerry looks French"
"Hi, we're very important people, so listen to us because we know more than everyone else even though you've never heard of us: Bush pronounces Nuclear like a Texan."
"Hi, I'm George Bush and I authorize this message: Edwards is a pretty boy"
"Hi, I'm John Kerry, and I authorize this message: Mary Cheney is Gay"
Life has been so peaceful.
On the downside, I'm nail biting on the Cards - Astros playoffs. Tonight is it! And then regardless of who wins, they're going to be the bad guy when they play the Red Sox. The Astros at least haven't won in a miserably long time, so they may have a few people cheering for them. But...not many.
Go Cardinals!
Ok, for those who just need a laugh, some wedding-related chuckles, sent via Angie:
UNDERSTANDING WOMEN (A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE)
I know I'm not going to understand women. I'll never understand how you
can take boiling hot wax pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out
by the root, and still be afraid of a spider.
MARRIAGE SEMINAR
While attending a Marriage Seminar dealing with communication, Tom and his
wife Grace listened to the instructor, "It is essential that husbands and
wives know the things that are important to each other." He addressed the
man, "Can you describe your wife's favorite flower?" Tom leaned over,
touched his wife's arm gently and whispered, "It's Pillsbury, isn't it?
The rest of the story gets rather ugly, so I'll stop right here.
For those who don't need a wedding as a reason to laugh...it's Stagworld! James Lileks, who seems to love anything related to the 40s-60s, scanned in some old stag magazines from the 50s and 60s, with some great commentary. Today, Disney is probably more risque, but just in case, figure this link has material which is PG or PG-13, and ensure no young eyes are watching!
Woohooo! We got our very first paper RSVP last night from my Aunt Mary and Uncle Gene. I've had a few online RSVPs, but this is the first card. I feel like I should have some prize for them or something. The race is on!
Wednesday, October 20, 2004
Hmm, just out of curiosity...does anyone else think this flu-shot thing is way overblown? I mean, we're talking about the flu, right? Not the plague? I understand that there are "at risk" people, but, to the rest of you "Fer cryin' out loud. Suck it up." I think out of the 3 or 4 times I've gotten the flu shot, I had the flu 2 or 3 times after that. And the fact that it was "less severe" didn't make me feel better when I was lying in bed with a fever. Whatever. You throw up, you lie in bed, and two days later (if it's really severe) you get on with life.
In other words, if I hear one more panicky 30-something complain about lack of flu-shots, I reserve the right to start screaming.
Ah, the nice thing about these screeds is I get to blame them on being a "Bridezilla". Sorta makes me look forward to the things I can say when I'm a hormonal, pregnant woman.
Ok, I have to admit; the last two evenings have been highly unproductive when it comes to either wedding stuff or CPIM certification. Monday night involved a lot of vegging. Yesterday was getting the ‘do done for this weekend’s shower in St Louis, and the following weekend’s engagement bash in Bowling Green. Somewhere along the line, I need to do nails. Mine look like rats chew on them in the night. Sometimes I’m just overwhelmed by the girliness….
Total aside…word’s spell-check doesn’t recognize “girliness” as a word. It’s offered alternatives include grisliness, griminess, and goriness. Who knew that spellcheck was sentient?
I also have to get off the couch and get back to working out. For the last week and a half, all I’ve done is swim once and a really short run with the Fred monster this AM. The dress could be in at any time, I should probably be lunching on a salad leaf and training for a tri. But that’s not going to happen. If anyone needs me I’ll lying on the chair with my feet in the air, eating ice cream and reading.
In cool news, I’ve started hearing from people who have gotten their invitations. It’s cool, I’ve heard from friends in California and in Massachusetts. Yippee! The post office did their appointed rounds far more quickly than I gave them credit for! I figured it would take a few more days to get to the coasts, so color me impressed. I still have a few more to address, and I did get one back because I forgot to include a city, state and zip. Oops. That one must have been addressed late on Thursday.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Apparently ours in not the only wedding debuting in December. See the last paragraph. Come to think of it, this too is happening on the same day as our wedding.
So, hooray! The volvo is back in town! Chris had a long day yesterday, getting up early to get ¾ of a day in at work, then driving to Cincinnati to get the car, and then driving back and getting home around midnight. But the car is back, and everything is back to status quo. Oh, and we’re broke.
For anyone who is interested in seeing some cyclo-cross pix, I took a (very) few this past Sunday, and posted them here:
http://www.pbase.com/mayhew/evo_cross
I don’t have anything exciting as I spent most of my time at the start/finish (see A- pictures) or in the pits.
Monday, October 18, 2004
The comment came up on the MAC list this AM about cyclocross haikus. I felt the urge to contribute the cheerleader CX haikus:
Cow pies in cross field
dogs thought were yummy, no kiss
for winner of race
Mac Mascot death match
Fred and Dairy in the pits
Winner earns Meg's love
Tire Flat, shouldered bike
Two riders trudge past the pit
Looking towards Granogue
Oddly enough, I didn't get nominated for Poet Laureate.
The pit, by the way is not found in Dante's Inferno. It's actually more like a Nascar pit where people can leave spare wheels and spare bikes in case of flat tires or other mechanical issues during the race.
It was a full weekend!
Friday night our friend Lara was in town, and Erin, Jeff, Chris and I had a chance to go to one of our favorite Indian places (Sitar) for dinner. It was good to see the almost the whole crowd back together. Now if we could only have had Eli there, it would have been complete. Of course, one high point for the evening (the one after we went to Grecianland Bakery) was Erin’s photojournalism while Jeff & Chris changed Jeff’s tire. It doesn’t sound thrilling but so few of the funny moments in life really are.
Saturday Chris, Fred, and I loaded up the car and headed to Baltimore for Chris’s friend Pete’s wedding. (Got that? Reread that sentence if necessary). It was really nice, held at a beautiful hotel, and the flowers were gorgeous. The wedding cake was blue modern art, which was probably more to the taste of the bride & groom than the standard white cake. Poor Pete, he looked so stressed out, especially when the wedding coordinator was late. But everything went smoothly, as most weddings ultimately do. Despite the worst fears of we brides, I’ve never seen a spectacularly horrible, tv news worth wedding. Anyway, Chris has that little reminder of what he’s getting into now. Run away!
Saturday night we drove from Baltimore to Philly to stay at a friend’s house. Sunday morning we were off to the races. That was the first MAC (MidAtlantic Cyclocross) race that I’ve been to this year, so it was like old home week. It never fails to amaze me how fabulous the people are at cyclocross when the folks at road races are a really mixed bag of cool people and complete jerks. (Or insert your favorite slanderous description here). Anyway, the race was held at a farm with a pumpkin festival occurring at one end, and the race occurring around a big pasture. The good news for Fred – the pasture was full of tasty treats. The bad news for Chris and I – those tasty treats came from the back end of a cow. EEEEeewwww! Anyway, rough race for Chris with flat tire and all, but he still managed to get 13th. We did our very first bike exchange, which was a little tough since there were a boatload of rookies feeding from within the pit, and therefore blocking the ability to run through as the rider is supposed to be able to. I had to stand at the mouth of the pit and do the hand off into the main stream of the riders. I was lucky, one friend caught Chris’s bike (In a cross exchange, the incoming rider jumps off the bike that needs work, and “throws” his bike, and hopefully someone grabs it, then someone has a spare bike and hands the new bike to the rider who hops back on. ), and another held Fred while we did the exchange. So it didn’t go badly, but we’ve decided that may take a bit more work while I learn how to make it flow better. I know of two mistakes that I made in the process, but it didn’t go poorly for a first time. Anyway, it was really cool to see everyone – our friend JH was up from Richmond (Susan – can’t wait to see you – maybe Beacon??). Another friend, Adam had a 5-week-old kitten in his car that he was taking to his girlfriend that night. It was really amazingly cute. Kittens always are! (Ogden Nash: The problem with a kitten is THAT Eventually it becomes a CAT). I got some of the latest gossip – our friends Marilyn & Sean are off to Houston next week for a half Ironman, and Amber is engaged. In the meantime, Chris was a lean, mean announcing machine for the women’s A-race (which Chris’s teammate, Betsy, won) and the men’s A-race (which his teammates took first and third in). So we went home with a happy post-MAC buzz, ready to face picking up the Volvo today, and cleaning up the invitations, and starting my studying for CPIM. We’re getting there!
