Wow...What happened to November?

There has been such a flurry of activity that it is hard to figure out where to start….No…I take that back, it’s actually pretty easy to figure out…The Wedding…What a day!!! It was a small and somewhat informal ceremony, but it was amazing. When you have two people that have such a deep love for each other, professing that love in front of friends and family; it was very moving, to say the least. I mean, I’m hand in hand, looking at this beautiful woman whom is the love of my life; she tells me how inspiring I am to her and continues with “the day I gave her my heart, it became her most treasured possession.” It took my breath away. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place (including myself). My (our) girls were superb and we were happy to include them in the ceremony by presenting them each with a family medallion. All the details came together seamlessly from the beautiful cake, awesome catering, the highly talented concert pianist and our phenomenal photographer. I can’t wait to see the finished pictures, because the samples that I have seen so far are amazing. I will finish off the talk of the wedding by saying I hope all couples experience the feeling that we felt that day. I really can’t put it into words, but I know I didn’t want the day to end. I think society sort of paints the picture that the wedding day is more for the bride and it is the old “ball and chain” for the groom. It couldn’t have been further from that for me, I felt like it was a celebration and I’m very excited for the future. Now to the honeymoon!

We decided to go to Disneyworld. I know you might be thinking that it isn’t the most romantic of places, but we are both kids at heart and with “the town that Mickey built” only one short non-stop flight away, it was really a no-brainer. We had a blast. The weather was perfect, crowds were remarkably light and lines were basically non-existent. Nobody does theme parks better than Disney. A few highlights were Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom, what a ride (other than being scared my lovely bride was going to abruptly barf when we started rocketing backwards through hills and turns). Mission Space and, the perennial favorite, Space Mountain didn’t disappoint either. By far, my favorite ride was Soarin at Epcot. For those of you that aren’t familiar with the attraction, you basically sit suspended in front of a giant movie screen that shows the awe inspiring scenery of California. The ride features scents from the scenery that you are viewing (ex. you smell oranges when flying over an orchard of orange trees, evergreen scents in an evergreen forest). You feel like you are really flying. I used to have dreams like that; where it was just my body, without any outside forces, soaring through the sky. Soarin literally gave me goose bumps and my wife and I rode it no less than six times. We returned to the reality of the real world slightly exhausted from taking full advantage of five days of “park hopping” and the Disney dining plan and all of its perks. Next up was Thanksgiving.

We chose (or were we elected?) to host our first Thanksgiving in our new home this year. My mother-in-law decided to help ease the pressure and ordered us a pre-cooked turkey with all of the trimmings, from the local grocery store. Thanksgiving morning we calculated the weight of the turkey and the length of the guest list (which grew) and figured that we would be left with zero leftovers (which is unpatriotic in my book). Luckily with the help of the internet and our grocery store’s supply of unfrozen turkeys, my bride saved the day. The “domesticated goddess” (see note) flawlessly pulled it all together for an extremely successful Thanksgiving dinner that totally belied our lack of experience for said event. NOTE: I started referring to my wife as domesticated goddess because when we first started dating she stated that she didn’t cook, but since we have lived together, she has been fabulous in the kitchen…well that it aside for only one incident that I can think of…tater-gate is what it is known as in these parts…but I won’t get into all of that. Truthfully I think she just told me she couldn’t cook so I’d love her for her personality instead of her culinary prowess…lol. Okay…back to the story: We capped the day’s events by setting up and decorating our Christmas tree. It is my first artificial tree and I was vehemently against “fake trees” in the past, but last year my beloved Frazier fir was a fire hazard by the time I removed it from the house and if someone so much as breathed on it, it would immediately deposit a bazillion (yes, I actually consider that a legitimate mathematical figure) pine needles on the floor. So it goes. Yes, I’ll miss the smell of a true pine tree, but that is what they make candles for and this way we get to enjoy the majesty of our tree for as long as we want. Plus, I think I like this new family tradition of decorating the tree on Thanksgiving Day.

Well…it looks as if I’m about at my self imposed word count limit, I think I’ll sign off…I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and were able to find many things to be thankful for. I hope the holiday season finds you in good health and good spirits. Take care.

The Gemini's Emotional Side

I never bought too much into that whole astrological sign thing, but being a Gemini, I definitely display many of "the twins" traits. Today, the day before the wedding and I’m feeling very in tune with my emotional side, almost on a feminine level; and I’m not ashamed to admit that. It’s been quite a year and I’ve felt the lowest of lows; from my divorce and how it deeply affects my youngest daughter to my close friend’s suicide and throw in a family conflict for good measure. But I’ve also experienced the highest of highs; like feeling the liberation of getting out of a marriage that was, lets just say, less than ideal then moving on to find an incredible woman.

It all really struck me this morning, how amazing love can be. I readily admit that I was young and ignorant in my first marriage and stayed with it because I made a vow and I thought it was the right thing for the kids. I had never experienced deep love with a woman so I didn’t understand that was what you based you marriage on, not some words that you say. I finally get it. I was thinking about the culmination of events today and it brought tears to my eyes. My fiancé and I have been together a short time, but we have a special connection and know each other remarkably well. I never believed in the term “soul mates”, until I met her. Tomorrow, she will be my wife and I’m so excited for our future. I know it will not always be easy and these strong feelings will become less intense with time. But, I also know if two people are truly devoted to each other, there is nothing they can't overcome and no matter what; we always have that core emotion and connection to each other.

I feel very grateful that I get the chance to experience love like this. I hope that all of you in relationships can relate to what I speak of…you know…how you feel incomplete without your special someone by your side. I know many people sell themselves short or settle for something less and that makes me sad; especially to think I was one of those people for such a long time. So, here is to hoping all of your relationships are good ones.

This will probably be my last post for a week or so…unless I find a few spare minutes during our honeymoon. I realize this post is a little sappy, but that’s the point isn’t it? Besides, the masculine part of my Gemini personality is very secure. Until next time…take care.

Wedding Faux Pas?!

It’s a dreary Monday, but I had a very nice weekend and hope you all enjoyed yours as well. All of the kids were away with their other parents, so my fiancé and I kicked off the weekend by racing to the courthouse, before closing time, to get the wedding license. After the clerk depleted half a rain forest, by butchering the spelling of my home town’s name; no less than 8 times and placing other vital information in the wrong spots, we finally exited with license in hand; to the well wishing of many of the voters that turned out to partake in their civic duties and cast their ballots for the local elections. We adjourned to the house for our traditional date night routine consisting of steaks, grilled to perfection, by yours truly, and a nice bottle of wine. Dinner was followed by watching television programs absent of any animation, talking inanimate objects or adults, dressed in ridiculous clothes, singing children’s songs. It was a very good night. Most of the weekend followed the same theme, with many constructive things taking place, such as Christmas shopping, waterproofing the deck, and finalizing wedding preparations. But for all that went well, me and my bride to be, were reminded that we made some serious wedding faux pas.
First, we scheduled our wedding on the first day of hunting season. This ended up being both good and bad. On the good side, I have a couple of acquaintances that happen to be hunters, which I didn’t plan on inviting to the wedding. At first I got some comments like “I didn’t receive my wedding invitation yet, must be some problem with the mail”. But after they realized which day the ceremony was to take place, they praised me for not wasting the postage to send them the said invitation. On the bad side, a few of my good friends, that WERE invited, are hunters. I was talking to one of my buddies and he was visibly distraught by the scheduling conflict. We sat discussing solunar tables, sunrise times and mileage from hunting spots to the wedding location. He said he wouldn’t miss the wedding for anything and came up with a game plan to both hunt and attend the wedding. I was happy that my event was not going to put my friend out, but a thought crossed my mind. It is very possible that, while saying our vows, the bride and I may actually smell the distinctive scent of “doe in heat” deer lure. Or, that fluorescent orange clothing may be spotted amongst the attendees. Well, we are in Arkansas and my fiancé and I have embraced that fact and will be offering two different styles of wedding favors. One will be a traditional favor, the other is going to cater to the “rednecks” in the group (I can’t divulge the details because it is a surprise, but I may post a picture after the big event).
Finally, it was pointed out that our wedding day is the same day that the, 8 win and 1 loss, Razorbacks host their SEC rival, Tennessee Volunteers. While the wedding will be over before kickoff, attendees would not be able to make the trip to Fayetteville and do any tailgating. I also found out today that, not only is the game going to be televised by ESPN; it is going to be the location for the “College Game Day” telecast. That’s pretty big stuff. So, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear a “hog call” during the reception….WOOO…PIGGGG…SOOIIIEEEE!!!!!
I guesss any, would be, couple have some sort of scheduling challenges to overcome. I think Saturday is going to be a great day and I’m so excited…florescent orange, deer piss, pig sounds and all.

Good-bye October, Hello November!

Well, another Halloween season has come and gone. Is it just me, or is this year flying by? I hope you all had a great Halloween Holiday. Mine was very good. We started ours this past Saturday. I took my two girls out on the back deck to gut…I mean, carve the pumpkins that we plucked from the local pumpkin patch. The jack o lanterns turned out great and I must admit that I found it quite amusing to see my very girly youngest daughter; shoulder deep inside the pumpkin, enthusiastically ripping the entrails out. We tried to get my, very soon to be, stepson involved in the action but the sight of the pumpkin innards caused him to start gagging. My wonderful fiancé further enhanced the Halloween spirit by roasting the very pumpkin seeds that were harvested from our jack o lanterns. (Unfortunately, I believe she seasoned the seeds with crack instead of salt because I ended up eating half my weight in pumpkin seeds. Despite the havoc the seeds wreaked on my digestive system, I still couldn’t stay out of them on Sunday. I figured that I would remedy my problem by taking the remaining seeds to work to share with my co-workers. Needless to say, the bag of seeds ended up in front of me and I polished them off in about 5 minutes flat. I think I have developed some sort of addiction because I found myself checking all of the jack o lanterns on my street for remnants of seeds this morning.) Okay…back to the Halloween events…We got the kids all dressed up in their costumes and took them to the community center for the fall festival. It was sort of lame in my book, they only had a few games and attractions for the kids, but they had fun none the less. Last night was spent with a brief trick or treating session on our street before we went to, yet another, Halloween festival; where my eldest daughter won some stuffed animals (yeah…we didn’t have enough already). On our way home from the festival my eldest daughter expressed a desire to do some more trick or treating. I was reluctant and seriously considering playing the “it’s been a long day and I’m tired from work” card, but I toughed it out. I’m so glad that I did. While we were walking and talking in the brisk autumn air, a thought occurred to me. My daughter is 12 and she still likes hanging out with her dad, but I know the days are numbered. Hell, next year she might not even want to go trick or treating, let alone, have her dad taking her house to house. I enjoyed her company and hoped the evening would be a happy memory for her some day. But, the point is, I almost missed that opportunity. I’ll be sure to remain vigilant for future ones.
Good bye October. I’m very excited about November. I’m getting married in 10 days followed by a weeklong honeymoon. Then we have Thanksgiving to look forward to. Yes, November looks to be a great month.