More Pictures!!

I just got more wedding pictures from one of my good friends...I'm so excited, I thought I would share a few with you all! Pictures of the cake finally too! (I'm sorry if I'm overdoing it with the wedding posts...I just love pictures and I love these pictures because they are of my wedding...) :)

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ok, soooo...B has challenged me to make my next new food item, and he asked for Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I have found a few interesting recipes on the web, but thought I would ask my fabulous readers (all 4 of you!) if you had a recipe you liked and highly recommended. If not, I'll go with the ones I found on the web, and let you know how it goes (I'm planning to make it this weekend).

Flowers

As I recently posted the details about my wedding, I thought I would continue along the same vain and show you some more detailed pictures of the flowers that I felt really helped to make everything look perfect...since my previous post focused mostly on pictures of me and my handsome hubby and not pictures of the details ! :) (These are not the best pictures, and I apologize, I took them the day after the wedding and tried my best, but it was hard as I was rushed!)

This was my bridal bouquet

Flower balls that were found at every aisle, and then after the ceremony moved to different parts of the reception tent

Centerpieces

Bridesmaid's Bouquets

Our arch...it was moved from the ceremony location to the tent to serve as a decoration behind the head table once the reception started. The arch was hand made, and I wish I could have taken it inside and kept it forever...

Different butterflies that could be found included on the arch...and believe it or not, during the ceremony, there were several live butterflies on the arch and other flower decorations...a sure sign my dad was truly with me on my wedding day. :)

RIP Pleco

B and I came home Saturday night to find my Pleco fish floating in not quite the right way. He had been sick for a few days, and I had tried to help him out, but I had no idea what to do...I think it was just old age. I had my Pleco fish for over 4 years...the longest I have had any fish (except for those still in the tank where Pleco lived...they were bought at the same time). He grew from about an inch long when I first got him, to over 6 inches at his death. It feels weird to look in the tank and not see him stuck to the glass sucking away...

Anyway, I mention this because having a fish for 4 years was simply amazing to me. Before this fish (and his tankmates), the longest I ever had a fish was for a little over a year. I always wanted to have a fish tank full of lively fish that lived a long time...but for some reason, it never happened. And I've been trying pretty regularly since I was about 12. So, the success of this fish and the others is pretty meaningful to me, as silly as it sounds.

Fish really do live a long time, and it is possible to help them live a long time! (Just don't ask me how...)

September 20, 2008

Let me preface this post by saying that I had the hardest time writing it! I had no idea what to include, or what not to include, and how many pictures to put in...but as much as I tried to keep it short, it just seemed rather impossible. So, I apologize now for the length of the post. You can skim if you want! :)
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There are many stories I could tell you about my wedding day. But for the purpose of this post, I want to focus only on the positive and beautiful day that was, and the fact that B and I committed ourselves to each other. I'll be sure to share all the other details at a later date... :)

I arrived at our house at 4:30, after a busy morning getting my nails and hair done. I had woken up at 7:00am with a feeling of nervous excitement...that was the only nervousness I felt the entire day. I just couldn't be nervous. I was marrying my best friend and the person I loved... It was a beautiful day. Not a bit of wind, and only slightly cloudy. By the time the ceremony started, it was in the lower 70s and the night stayed relatively warm.

B and I had made the decision not to see each other before the ceremony, and because of this, he stayed at the house and got ready, while I had spent the previous night at a hotel with K. This allowed me to spend the day with K and my sister...and for all the decorations to be a surprise when I arrived at the house.

I barely saw anything when we pulled in to the house because I was so busy hiding in the car and trying to get into the house without B seeing me. The plan was for me to get dressed, take some photos, and then the ceremony would begin at 5:30. There was some confusion at this point on my behalf. I thought I was supposed to be waiting for the photographer to take pictures of me getting ready...and I think she thought she was waiting for me to be entirely dressed. I spent quite a bit of time waiting for my other bridesmaids to arrive, and running around the house trying to make sure things were taken care of. Some of my beloved friends came in the house to see if I needed anything and I was so happy to see them. Before I knew it, it was 5:00 and I still wasn't dressed! I finally started getting ready. Time was flying. I got dressed and we took a few pictures, but not nearly as many as I had thought we would take...I was told not to worry though, because we would take more later.

Our friend Ken, was acting as our wedding "planner" for the day, and he was making us stay on track. When he came in to tell us that we had 1 minute left to take pictures, my heart jumped. I couldn't believe that I was getting married! Suddenly, I heard the music start for the wedding party...and they opened the front door...and there was B! Haha. I shrieked a little and hid...and luckily, he didn't see me. It was at this time that my mom and B's mom were escorted down the aisle. B picked all the music for the ceremony, and the wedding party walked down to Mannheim Steamroller's "Cavatina." It was a four minute song...and I started to worry that not everyone was going to get down quick enough. The flower dog and the ring bearer had to wait until the mothers lit the unity candle, and it seemed as if it took forever... But eventually, off they went. As my first bridesmaid stood waiting for her chance to walk down the aisle, I felt tears come to my eyes. I was overwhelmed at the fact that it was finally here...and I was about to be married to the person I cared the most about in the world.

I suddenly found myself left alone in the foyer to our house. It was at this time I thought of my dad, and wished he was there. I wondered what he would have said to me before we walked down the aisle. I wondered what he would have thought of B and of the beautiful place where we were getting married. I really wished I had him there to walk with me. I had made the decision to walk by myself because I couldn't imagine anyone else walking me down but my dad...but it didn't make it any easier for me.

I was lucky that our ringbearer's mom came back and told me she was going to help me out the door...my train probably would have gotten stuck somewhere without her help. :) Ken was suddenly telling me to go. I realized though, that the wedding party's song was still playing and was like no...I don't think I'm supposed to be going. It was a confusing moment...but I didn't go. :) The beginning of the version of the wedding march B chose for me (Aaron Meyer's "Here Comes the Bride...you should search for this, it is beautiful) had soft drums playing...and I wanted to wait until they were over before I stepped out. So I kept the guests waiting for a minute or so. I stepped out of the house, and I lost all sense...I remember our friend telling me to go slow. I wanted to stand there for a second, but when he told me to go slow...I just got plain confused! I had to go down steps, and this made my dress get out of whack in the front...and then I was trying to walk slow (although I think I ended up going fast) and I felt myself trip some on my dress. :) Ha. This is where having someone to walk with would have made my walk so much easier... You can actually see in the picture that it did get stuck under...I imagine that is the way it looked all the way down the aisle (I haven't seen all the pictures yet). I don't remember much else from my walk down the aisle...but thinking watch your step! And of course, seeing B. When I finally got to the actual "aisle," I could see him. He looked so handsome in his tux. And he was smiling at me. I didn't take my eyes off of him.

I made it to the end of the aisle and stood there with our pastor. And then the ceremony began. B and I faced each other and took each other's hands. I couldn't stop looking in his eyes. We went through the gathering words and the opening prayer...although the pastor did forget to ask who gave me away...my mom had wanted this part to be included, despite the fact that my dad was not there. After the declaration of consent, my friend N read a poem called "Love," by Roy Croft.

Love

I love you
Not only for what you are,
But for what I am
When I am with you.

I love you,
Not only for what
You have made of yourself,
But for what
You are making of me.

I love you

For the part of me
That you bring out;

I love you
For putting your hand
Into my heaped-up heart
And passing over
All the foolish, weak things
That you can't help
Dimly seeing there,

And for drawing out
Into the light
All the beautiful belongings
That no one else had looked
Quite far enough to find

I love you because you
Are helping me to make
Of the lumber of my life
Not a tavern
But a temple.

Out of the works
Of my every day
Not a reproach
But a song.

I love you
Because you have done
More than any creed
Could have done
To make me good.
And more than any fate
Could have done
To make me happy.

You have done it
Without a touch,
Without a word,
Without a sign.

You have done it
By being yourself.
Perhaps that is what
Being a friend means,
After all.

After N's beautiful reading of the poem, we had a scripture reading, and then exchanged our vows. B and I wrote our own...we said a lot of the same things...and mine were of course, a bit longer then his. He was rushed to finish his, and I'm a writer, so of course mine were longer. :) I thought I would cry, but I didn't. We both love to laugh, and of course, our vows included some things that made us laugh...one of the reasons that we love to be with each other so much is our ability to make each other laugh...so I am glad that we were able to have fun with our vows, but also make them somewhat serious as well.

We then exchanged our rings. I had a very hard time getting B's ring on. I think his finger grew from the time we bought our rings 2 months before! :) I pushed and pushed, and he then had to help me. And poor guy, by the end of the evening, could barely get his ring off because it was so tight, his finger got swollen! Anyway, it did cause a bit of a laugh. :) Then we had the blessing of the rings.

We then lit the Unity Candle, and during this time, Josh Groban's "To Where You Are," was played in memory of my dad. This was the first bit of time that B and I got to actually take a breath. He told me I almost made him cry when I came down the aisle...and I told him he looked snazzy in his tux. It was nice to have this time to breathe and just be with and enjoy each other during the ceremony.

When the song was over, we received the Ministerial Blessing, the Benediction and more blessings, and finally, B was told he was allowed to kiss the bride. :)

We were then announced and walked back down the aisle to 98 Degrees' "True to Your Heart."

After everyone made it back down the aisle, we went back to the rows to greet everyone. It was wonderful seeing friends that I hadn't seen in years, and those that were there from the very beginning. We took some pictures (don't have any of those yet) and finally were ready to enter the reception area. I hadn't seen the completed reception tent, and it really was just beautiful when I saw it. It was lit only with the white lights and lanterns. We were introduced and then the eating began. The food was great. I couldn't really eat much though, as I felt like my undergarments had been put on a little too tightly! :) I'll let the pictures do much of the rest of the talking for what took place at the reception...I don't have a picture of the cake yet (although I did smear some cake on my lovely husbands face)! Our toasts were great and we danced some and the reception was definitely a lot of fun.

Entering the Reception

My best Friends and I

Our First Dance to "When God Made You He Must Have Been Thinking About Me"

A Picture with all my former staff members...also known as my family

By the time the reception ended (around 10:00), B and I still had to feed all our animals and finally get to bed. Responsibilities don't go away, not even on your wedding day! Probably my favorite part of the evening though, was when we first went back into the house after everyone left, to get ready to feed the animals...when B said "Hi Mrs. B." It made me smile. And made me realize that we were finally joined as one.

October?!!?

Happy October! I can't believe that it is already October. I was driving to work today, a drive that is on a very scenic road that is surrounded by trees, and I could not believe the fact that leaves were falling, and most trees were no longer green. It seems like just yesterday we were having our wedding, where all the trees were still green (it really was just yesterday! not even two weeks!), and already, the days and nights have gotten very cold and there is barely a green tree left. Enjoy the last few days of warmer weather, the cold will soon be here to stay!

P.S. I'm promising the wedding post by Saturday...I've been a little longer then anticipated since I started my new job!

Dinner

I was reading Imperfect's post about family and dinner last night as I was attempting to wind down from an incredibly long day (yes, after 5.5 hours of running after 2-year olds, and changing diapers, I could barely keep my eyes open), and it made me really think about what dinner's have meant to me over the years.

For a long time when I was young, my family ate dinner together most nights. My dad worked night shift at times, so there were days he could not join us, but for the most part, for my early years, every night was spent at the kitchen table eating something my mom had cooked. My mom did not really like to cook...everything she did was very basic, but what mattered was that we were at the dinner table together.

As I grew up, and became more involved in skating, we didn't have as many family dinners. Sometimes my mom was working, sometimes my dad. We often ate out (every Tuesday was McDonald's night), or dinner was whatever we made when we got home. When I first started watching what I was eating, I began to cook some dinners, and I do remember a few nights spent together with my experiments...but that was few and far between. For a long time also, because of my eating disorder, meals were a scary time for me. They were not something to be enjoyed. They resulted in fears of gaining weight and calorie counting... Looking back now, I feel we really missed out on some good family times. I don't think I realized this as a teenager...really, I was more concerned about the things that were going on in my life to worry about sitting down and eating with my parents. And I don't think this was anyone's fault. We were all struggling through our own busy schedules and troubles in life...but I feel our family would have been much stronger and tighter, if we would have taken an hour out of our days to catch up with each other and have a REAL conversation. Because meals are the perfect opportunity for that...and it is so hard to have a real conversation at any other point during the day (especially for a busy family).

When I went to college, I ate with my boyfriend, or ate alone in my room. The dining halls were gross, and home-cooked meals were few and far between. :) I did look forward to the conversations my boyfriend and I would have during those times.

When I finally moved in to my own apartment, I was so excited to finally have a kitchen where I could cook...but I was in grad school, and that equaled no time to cook. Well...I cooked a bit. But not much. And I had no one to eat it with really.

I thought when I graduated and started a job, I'd have more time. But what I hated was that I was cooking for just me. What was the point of making a meal when I'd have a ton of leftovers I'd never eat?

When B and I started dating, we tried to eat as many meals together as possible. We made sure to at least eat one meal together, regardless of whether he was working or I was working (we had that luxury since we worked at the same place). I really came to look forward to those meals together. It was our time. We would laugh together, talk with each other, and review our days. It was time for conversation that we might not have gotten otherwise. I started to enjoy eating. I saw mealtime as a happy time, rather then just a time that I had to put something in my stomach. I started to plan for our meals...when before, I would just snack on something as I was working or going from one place to the next. With B, I found my love of food and meal time again.

When we moved in to our new house, and I left my job, we were both able to be home for dinner. If I come home first, I try to cook, and vice versa. Some nights though, we cook together. We make a concerted effort to stop whatever we are doing at dinner time and sit at our small kitchen table and eat together. Some times we don't need to have a conversation, and we will just sit and enjoy the food. Other days, when we haven't had much time to talk during the day, it is our time to catch up and just sit together. I truly cherish this time together. I believe that we both do. I know when one of us cannot be home for dinner because of another commitment, it feels weird and as if something is off. Breakfast and lunch can be spent apart (although often we try to find ways to eat together for lunch), but dinner is to be spent together. It is a bonding time and a time when we get to make something together and enjoy it together.

I also love it because I can FINALLY experiment and make the meals I've been dying to make for so long. It truly is a goal of mine to be a good cook...and be able to make some fantastic meals. If I have kids, I want to cook and bake with them. I really think that meals provide such an amazing opportunity to bond and spend quality time together.

Our table is small right now...as we are a small family and just starting out. But I hope over the years as we begin to establish ourselves, that we will begin hosting big family dinners. I love big family dinners...where there is so much conversation and laughter around the table... And if our family grows, that we will continue to keep the meaning of eating together and always take that time together. When else do you get such a perfect time to give your undivided attention to those you love?