Labor Day wedding weekend

Seven years ago, Brian & I were married on the Saturday of Labor Day weekend (our anniversary is actually Monday). But I couldn't help but get nostalgic during a beautiful wedding we attended Saturday for our friends Jeff & Sarah.

The wedding Mass was moving and inspiring, and the bride and groom's getaway car was a tiny sprite racing car. The reception was at the stunning St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church in Andover.

Jeff & Sarah were radiating happiness all night, and it seemed to bring out the romantic side in many guests, who were slow dancing with their sweeties. How can you not love weddings?


Tony was the best man and fulfilled his duties with flying colors, including delivering a very sweet toast. We spent a lot of time with him & Nicole and his parents, Madeline & Mario. (NiTony have been married eight years, and his parents 37, so we're still rookies compared to both of these good-looking couples.)


If you've even been to a wedding with Brian & me, you'll not be surprised that we requested a swing song and danced our hearts out.


Best wishes to the new Mr. & Mrs. and to all those couples who know in their minds and hearts that saying "I do" was one of the best moves they ever made.

Food for thought

Nicole & I spent about an hour at church tonight making dozens of sandwiches assembly-line style. Volunteers purchased fruit, drinks, chips, cookies, etc. and will assemble sack lunches to be distributed Saturday to the homeless.

I'm always grateful for the perspective volunteering offers me. The simple act of working alongside my friend to stack lunch meat and cheese for people in need was meditative.

Meanwhile, my hubby was at our cozy home cooking us grilled chicken and pesto tortellini. I must admit that I felt a bit guilty when we soon thereafter cracked open a bottle of a new favorite school night wine, 2005 Robert Mondavi Fume Blanc, and sat down to eat together.

No matter what's brewing in my life, I have nothing to complain about. I am blessed, for one thing, with people who love me and want to make the world a better place, one lunch meat sandwich at a time. And to that I raise a glass and a prayer.

"Shared joy is a double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow."
— Swedish Proverb

At least the evening was great

"The Great Man" by Kate Christensen, my book club's August read, was definitely not a favorite of mine. (I confess that my bookmark is currently resting on page 103 of the 301-page novel.) I intend to finish it, though, partly because I want to give it another chance and partly because I want to get to the Dirty Little Secret and bantering that other readers said they liked about the book.






I found the writing to be a bit presumptuous, although the book spurred lots of fun conversation at book club tonight, including discussion about bad dads, bridezillas (disclaimer: not Amanda!), parents in love with people half their age and more. Plus, Denise & I performed an enthusiastic demonstration of the chicken dance for our group. (Thanks to Kathryn, there's already evidence of that one online ... )

We dined on yummy cucumber sandwiches, among other things, and were entertained by Kathryn's pups. Next up: "My Antonia" by Willa Cather.

Good morning!

The sky outside my bedroom window was absolutely orange when I woke up this morning. I simply had to go outside and marvel.

"Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication."
-- Leonardo da Vinci

What's up, Meowers?

I love how Meow Meow's eyes look when her pupils are dilated. She seems so harmless and docile. I'll try to remember that in the morning when she's biting me and chewing on my ponytail because she wants her breakfast NOW.

It must be tough to be a cat ...

That's how I roll

I've had Queen's lyrics "I want to ride my bicycle, I want to ride my bike" going through my head tonight. Last week, I pulled out my bike for the first time this summer and have ridden 24 miles on it since then. I forgot how much I love to ride my bicycle.

The weather Monday evening was beautiful. Clear, warm. Pretty sunset. I soaked it all in on a 14-mile ride that seemed more enjoyable and fun than a workout. I zoomed and soared, listening to people mowing their grass, birds singing. I wish the sun hadn't been setting so I could've gone farther. Fortunately, NiTony's house -- and their ice water -- was a perfect halfway point for my ride.

I've had my bike since the summer before I started college, when I purchased it with high school graduation money. I used it to navigate Mount Oread when I didn't have a car for two years. It's served me well and continues to do so. I'm already looking forward to my next ride.

B-day bash

We gathered at Brian's parent's house tonight to help Eric celebrate his 27th birthday. We played bocce ball and washers but were chased inside to eat because of all the flies. Welcome to late August in Kansas.

A birthday tradition for him, we ate some of Eric's favorite foods, including yellow cake with chocolate icing (courtesy of Grandma). And I made a couple of Eric's favorite recipes, bruschette with basil from our herb garden and a special strawberry-banana drink.

There's a great story behind the drink. It's actually a chilled soup recipe that I made for a dinner party several years ago. Eric, being the creative guy he is, didn't want the sweet pink concoction in a bowl and sprinkled with granola as I intended to serve it. Nope. He ladled it into a pint glass and added a shot of rum. I've made the recipe a dozen or more times since then, but always as a drink mix and never as a soup.

Cheers to the b-day boy!


Strawberry-Banana Soup/Drink Mix
2 pints (4 cups) strawberries
4 ripe bananas
1 cup sugar
2 cans coconut milk or cream of coconut
1 cup half & half
1 cup apple juice
Juice of 2 lemons
Rum (optional)
Garnishes: whipped cream, strawberry slices (optional)
**
Puree ingredients until smooth. Serve cold with rum, if you're up for it.
Source: Loosely adapted from a recipe by Tanya Tandoc

A few other images from the party:

Mom time: Sew good

I spent a couple of hours hanging out with Mom this afternoon. She and I watched episodes of "Baby Borrowers" that we missed and worked on projects. I'm nearly finished with the baby blanket pictured at left. Mom started it earlier this year, and we'll soon donate it to the Rose Hill Quilt Guild, which will make sure that a preemie baby receives it.




Mom is crocheting a baby blanket for my sister Jen, who will be having her baby any time now. (She has an unofficial baby pool going with friends and family who are guessing the day her son Kaden will be born. I'm betting on Sept. 4th.) I can't wait to meet him.

Mom continues to do well and is taking a rehab class, where she does physical therapy, among other things. She's having fun redecorating different rooms in her home and seems to have more energy for the everyday activities that we all often take for granted. Today, for example, she showed me a birthday gift she'd purchased for a special someone.

She's cooking some of her favorite foods, and today we enjoyed a snack that I haven't had in years: Tomatoes and cucumbers from her garden with Mom's Veggie Dip, a taste from my childhood. Mom never wrote a recipe for it because she just sort of whips it up each time. I love that she's such a great cook and can do that, but it makes recreating her recipes very difficult. So she & I sat down with a recipe card, and she thinks this version is pretty close to how she makes it:

Mom's Veggie Dip
1 cup mayo
Squirt of ketchup
1/4 teaspoon of each: garlic salt, celery salt and onion salt
**
Mix ingredients. Serve with veggies. Enjoy.

Sublime Sunday

Sunday afternoon.
Gentle sprinkle.
Rain-kissed flowers.
Barefoot walk.
Wagging tails.
Rain, rain, please don't go away.









"What a feeling in my soul
Love burns brighter than sunshine
It's brighter than sunshine
Let the rain fall, I don't care
I'm yours and suddenly you're mine
Suddenly you're mine
And it's brighter than sunshine"

-- "Brighter Than Sunshine" by Aqualung

School night wine's mighty fine

After work, a trip to the bookstore, a mile swim at the Y and phone conversations with a couple friends, my mom and my brother-in-law (I love productive workweek evenings!), I cooked a tasty dinner of Spiced Mini Burgers with Couscous Salad and had a glass of school night wine.

Yes, school night wine. It's a wine snob term that Brian & I have adopted recently. It refers to wine that is inexpensive, tasty and perfect with a weeknight meal. For us, that's a wine with a lot of taste in the $10 to $15 range, such as the bottle of Columbia-Crest 2003 Grand Estates Shiraz that we cracked open this week.

I took a peek in our wine journal that we started earlier this year to find other school night wine suggestions to share here. Among them:

• Rioja Vega Crianza 2003, a Spanish wine that we described as simple, but fun, with a soft and velvety mouth feel
• Dynamite Merlot 2005, a Sonoma Valley wine that we thought was a good summer merlot because it's easy and light with a slow finish
  
• Le Volte Toscana 2005, an Italian red that has a spicy nose and a quick finish (and is much better after it's had a chance to open up)
• 2006 Bonterra Viognier, a Northern California white that we thought was excellent with a buttery, rich taste and a bright finish
• 2006 Fontana Candida Frascati, a superior summer Italian white that was dry but refreshing

School nights do not have to be dull. Cheers!

I love this song

My new favorite song is "God Rests In Reason" by Jason Mraz. The lyrics are downright poetic. I get goosebumps every time I listen to them. They include:

Let the wind of heaven dance between you two, allowing time and space to bring you closer to everlasting love.

And remember love possesses nothing, nor would it ever be possessed. Oh yeah, love is love sufficient unto love and you can figure out the rest.

And think not you can direct the course of love, itself directs the course of life. Believe not God is in your heart, child, but rather you're in the heart of God.

There's not a great YouTube video of this song (this one ends before the song does). But here or elsewhere (iTunes has this song), I promise you that it's worth checking out.

Wild, wonderful wedding

My friend and co-worker Jaime, who photographed Amanda's wedding earlier this month, was kind enough today to give me copies of the beautiful images she snapped -- and permission to post them here. These are just a few of my favorites of the 1,800 she took:

Lilly update

Lilly's procedure went well today, and she's a much prettier pup, too. When Brian picked her from the vet this afternoon, she was as playful and affectionate as always.

Tonight, though, she's a bit lethargic and snuggly. I think it's catching up to her. At least she has rimdyl to help her through it ...

Poor lil' Lilly

Lilly has a big day Tuesday. She's headed to the vet to be treated for canine papilloma virus (a.k.a. doggy warts). For the past couple of months, she's had nasty warts on her mouth that have only gotten bigger and bigger. We have reason to believe that she is uncomfortable, and one big puppy wart seems to be making it difficult for her to eat and play. (I know: It's disgusting.) So we're taking her in to have the big ol' bump removed.

The vet said that she couldn't have anything to eat after 10 p.m. tonight, so we sprinkled shredded cheese on her kibble dinner, a special treat:

Backyard bouquet

Further inspired by Amanda's friend Emily's approach to floral arranging (many of the flowers she used in the wedding were from gardens of family and friends), I put together my own little bouquet today using fountain grass and crepe myrtle that we transplanted from Brian's grandmother's garden a couple of years ago.

The funny thing about this picture is that it looks like she's sniffing a blossom. If you double-click on the photo, though, you'll notice that she's actually licking her nose. Cute stuff.

Plenty of playtime

With the big wedding weekend behind us, this weekend has been one of relaxing and enjoying the simpler things in life. Same goes for Dakota & Lilly, who spent some time romping with their puppy pals Roxy and Nanook:

Kissin' cousins

The newlyweds are honeymoonin' it up in Vegas, and my parents are watching Toby for Amanda & Kurtis. Nicole & I hung out tonight and took a turn watching the pup. But first I had a photo shoot with Toby & Dakota. They had a fun time frolicking in the yard together. Do you see the resemblance?


You've gotta admit: Toy poodles are a cute little breed:

Puppy love

Brian swears that he didn't pose this photo he took of Dakota and Lilly snuggling. I should've known that Lilly would be the little spoon ...

For the love of family

Brian & I met many of our out-of-town family & friends for breakfast this morning before they hit the road to head to their homes in Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri and Minnesota.

My extended family is quite large: Dad is one of eight kids, and Mom is one of five. This photo doesn't include any of Mom's relatives, so you can imagine the size of the group of our family at the wedding this weekend. Included in the photo are several of Dad's siblings, their spouses and children and some very dear family friends whom we count as family. The guy sticking his tongue out at me is Peter, who recently proposed to my cousin Kayleen at the Eiffel Tower. He assured me that he wants to marry into this crazy Irish family. If anything, this weekend should have shown him that we can throw one hell of a wedding.

Wedding-palooza weekend

What a wonderful weekend. Amanda & Kurtis were a gorgeous and gracious couple, and their wedding party was a celebration to be remembered. I couldn't be happier for them and am honored to have been part of their ceremony and celebration. (I also didn't trip walking down the aisle, break my ankle swing dancing on the dance floor or botch my wedding toast, so I am counting my lucky stars on those fronts, as well.)

I decided yesterday to focus on the tasks at hand and devote my full attention to the beautiful bride. I put my camera down for most of the day and let others capture the Kodak moments, so I don't have any photos to share of the ceremony or reception, but those are sure to come later. I used my cell to snap the photo here of the happy couple in the limo.

For now, here's a peek at the whirlwind of wedding events:


The adorable flower girl with her Wedding Barbie at the rehearsal dinner.


Me, Amanda & Emily, her friend from high school who was one of the bridesmaids, the night before the wedding at the reception site, Auburn Hill Golf Course clubhouse. We went there after the rehearsal dinner to decorate.


Emily and Amanda, up with me into the wee hours of the morning the night before the wedding making the boutonnieres, corsages, bouquets and other floral arrangements. Emily has a horticulture background and did the flowers for her own wedding last month. She did a beautiful job with Amanda's, and it was fun to help. (Under Em's supervision, I was in charge of the pretty little ball of flowers that the flower girl carried.)

The bridesmaids, mother-of-the-groom, Mom, Amanda & I got enjoyed mimosas and had our hair done together on Saturday.

Mom had a good weekend, a blessing to all of us. She was able to help Amanda get ready, assist Dad in the formality of giving her away during the ceremony and even dance at the reception. She looked stunning, and friends have told me that you never would've known the difficult summer she has seen looking at her Saturday.






Amanda putting the final touches on her pretty face at the church, West Evangelical Free Church.


The crazy groomsmen. They're a great group of guys who have known Kurtis since he was a kid. Here they are on a funky retro couch in the church basement before the ceremony. Jaime, who photographed the wedding, loved it as a backdrop for fun photos, including this one:


This may have been the last crazy thing my baby sis did before she exchanged vows.


Amanda & Kurtis displayed a collection of photos at the church. From left: his parents, Rocky & Leona in their 1978 wedding photo; Amanda and Kurtis in their engagement photo; my parents in their getaway mustang in 1975.

I pray that the newlyweds are blessed with a long and happy marriage like their parents. For now, they'll kick off their marriage on their Vegas honeymoon. Win or lose, let's just say they'll be lucky in love. Cheers to the bride & groom!