The Countdown

There are two downsides to having registered:

1) Cooking isn't quite as exciting at the moment, because I'm anticipating the gifts we might receive off the registry. Plus, I can't really go buy anything, because it's all on the registry.

2) 96 days until the wedding. Crate and Barrel has a countdown. When I lay down to try to sleep last night the number kept flashing in my head. I fear I'm going to be turning into one of those people for whom the wedding is all-consuming, at least in the short term.

This is why I insist on vendors who are e-mail friendly. 2 am and I'm working on wedding stuff.

Another Reason Not To Do the Boquet Toss

Click the link. May not be work appropriate.

Where's My Gun?

Sweetie and I registered for gifts today. If you read the books that cater to the egomaniacal bride with a practically nonexistent groom they recommend that you space it out, leave plenty of time, don't want to wear the boy out. I could see the benefit of this approach to things, so figured we'd head out after church today to hit Crate and Barrel this week and do the same with Target next week. It would spread things out, yet get it out of the way.

By going after church I could also make it as painless as possible on Sweetie. We could catch lunch at a sports bar on the way, so he'd feel nice and manly before an afternoon spent shopping for kitchen stuff and towels and things.

This morning we came up with the rules as well. Sweetie had the right to claim no interest in a particular decision and cede all powers to me, but I had the right to lobby him to require input. He's got to have input on things like our plates, but I'm not even going to pretend he gets say on the pots and pans we will be using. And he's OK with that.

When we got to Crate and Barrel we set out a game plan. Thankfully, the store was laid out in a manner that would make it easy. We started with the dishes and flatware, worked our way around to linens and glassware, then ended up in the kitchen aisle. Sweetie got the scan gun. Whoever came up with the idea of giving the groom a scan gun to scan the items revolutionized the wedding registry process, and I must salute that person. Even when we were working on the cookware and knives and things Sweetie had absolutely no interest in whatsoever he was involved in the process, because he was the one responsible for getting them into the scan gun.

Sweetie also had surprisingly more input than he expected he would have. Thanks to him we have registered for a cheese plate, a chip and dip bowl, and grapefruit spoon set.

The most surreal moment of the day was while we were selecting small kitchen gadgets such as spatulas and vegetable peelers. A woman who was shopping there could tell we were registering for our wedding, and basically said, "You know, registering for that small stuff is a waste of time. Go for the big stuff, because people will actually buy you a $200 blender, they don't want to buy the small stuff." Now, we've registered for our share of pricy things. I've known for over 10 years I wanted to regsiter for a Kitchen Aid Mixer when this day came. This is an opportunity to get top of the line pots, pans and knives. But I THINK there are people out there who might be interested in smaller things. Or maybe group together smaller things. Or who the heck knows, but the options are out there. That was just a very strange conversation, given that this woman has no idea who any of the people are who will be buying us gifts.

The most astonishing moment of the day was after we had finished the Crate and Barrel registry, we'd made another lap around the store just to pick up anything we'd missed, Sweetie turns to me and says, "Hey, why not go to Target and finish registering now!" So we did!

Target's got more options, so we were able to be a little wackier with some of our choices. You can see for yourselves what that means.

And the funniest moment of the day came after we were done with all the registering and stopped at the grocery store to buy some food for dinner. When we stepped inside the store Sweetie asked, "Where's my gun?" Because apparently shopping is much more fun for boys when there's a gun involved. I let him do the U-Scan when we checked out, but it's just not the same.

A final aside - both Target and Crate and Barrel specifically ASK when setting up your registry if you're OK with people giving you gift cards. Hey, I'm thrilled you're coming to our wedding. A gift is appreciated, but by no means expected. The registry is a "wish-list" as it were, but I've got no problems if you want to give me a gift certificate instead. I don't want to meet the egomaniacal bride for whom a gift certificate is not an option. She's probably got guards at the door to the reception, because if your gift isn't on the list she's not going to allow you in for dinner. Not so much for us. And even if it were, I guarantee you there's something in your price range on our registry.

The Priest

We have a priest now.

I would have honestly been absolutely happy with any of the priests at our church, but if you'd asked me to put odds on which would be our priest, she is the one I would have picked and I'm not quite sure why.

The thing that excites me the most about her is that she is in charge of liturgy and the arts. It's going to be a very meaningful, special ceremony, and I think the choir of friends will be well incorporated.

Sparing You the Icebreakers

So today I'm reading Joe's blog and stumble across this post. Which is interesting enough in it's own right, but is also about a singer I never would have heard of before were it not for Grigorpdx. See, he's posted about him, too (and played Sweetie and I some of the MP3's. Great stuff!).

These are two fellows who will get along well. They should meet each other. And given that they're both going to be attending the wedding this summer (you are both attending, right?) it is quite possible for the two of them to meet.

It's then occurring to me that there are other guests for whom this is the case as well. Probably will never be in the same room outside of the wedding, so we've got to take advantage of opportunity while it's available.

Then I was coming up with all of these wacky scenarios to insure the meetings took place. We could seat 20 people per table - to insure all the necessary parties would meet each other. We could send a little list to people - here is a list of people you need to meet before the night is over. We could turn it into a wacky icebreaker-type game - instead of just listing names we could list some fact about them, so you would actually be compelled to meet them. That's when I realized I may be going off the deep end. I HATE wacy icebreaker-type games.

Thankfully, I got home before my mind could wander much further. Sweetie and I are so damn good we ALREADY had Joe and Grigorpdx seated at the same table. The other folks who must meet as well. Not to say that there aren't people worth meeting that will be sitting at other tables, but hopefully intriguing dinner conversation will be had by all.

Oh Say Can You Sing

I think the quote from our contact with the ball team that's hosting our rehearsal dinner pretty much says it all:

Yes, TRP is a definite for singing the national anthem.

Honeymoon...yippee!!!!!!

We have Hawaii!!!!

Kauai, to be exact. Swankette's parents have very generously donated time-share time for our honeymoon. Long ago, right after I popped the question and we set a date, we tried to book Kauai; it was booked. So we settled for Cabo (tragic, I know) and hoped someone would drop out. Someone did, and we are SET, BAY-BEE.

She and I have been looking in books and stuff since then to figure out what we're going to do there. There will be ample sitting on the beach, enjoying cold beverages, and some more traditional indoor honeymoon activity, but I've never been to Hawaii and she's not been there since she was 12, so we are stoked.

One activity in particular has really caught our attention. Kauai Backcountry Adventures offers a wonderful, relaxing, honeymoon-perfect activity. They drive you up to the mountains in for some views, then drop you in a giant inner tube in an irrigation ditch. Apparently kids used to do that for kicks, but now it's a 3-hour-long leisurely meander down the side of a mountain, through mountains, forest, through tunnels (they give you a headlamp and gloves), and to a swimming hole for a picnic lunch. I can't imagine a much better way to chill with my new bride than to sit on innertubes next to each other, lock arms, and watch the forest go by. I'm not an athlete, so surfing--even windsurfing--would likely be an exercise in frustration for me. I might try it another trip, but not this one. This one's gonna be tubing, snorkeling, maybe a helicopter ride...I am SO EXCITED!!!