Brooke and Jay's Adventures

Rather than go on the exotic honeymoon that we had talked about (really $6K for a week?), a friend of ours offered us her timeshare for the week and we were more than glad to take her up on it.  We ended up staying in Villa Rica, Georgia, a tiny town just outside of Atlanta.

We left Sunday about noon, and checked in just as the sun was setting over the lake – yep, that’s right our free accommodations faced the water.  We unpacked quickly, although we did stop to admire the GIANT Jacuzzi tub surrounded by 80’s style porn mirrors.   Then we head back out for some dinner and shopping.

 At O’Charley’s, I splurged on a Cotton Candy Cosmo.  They bring the alcohol out and pour it right over an actual piece of cotton candy!  It was to die for!!Then we hit Wally World for some grocery shopping.  We hadn’t seen many restaurants in the area and decided that we’d cook some meals at home.   We picked up a couple of frozen pizzas, some cans of soup, pop tarts, and popcorn vand then made a pass by the electronics section before checking out.  Good thing we did, because we picked up several movies for $5 each!

 Since our townhouse had a fireplace, we also picked up a bundle of the fire starter logs – you know the ones that are way over priced.  As a local you walk by them and laugh, wondering who would be so stupid/desperate to pay that much?  Next time remember that some poor guy probably is buying it because the one thing that his wife requested for their honeymoon was a fire to snuggle in front of.

One amenity that was a big luxury for us was cable television.  When Jay made the move from his apartment to the new house, we decided that we wouldn’t get cable right away.  We would have plenty of things to do getting the house ready and probably wouldn’t have time to watch TV any way.   After a couple of months doing without, we were very excited to be able to watch whatever channel we wanted.

Monday morning we slept in, and then walked around the lake till we reached the hiking trail that led into the woods.  That evening we had our first ever Monday Movie night with popcorn and pizza for dinner.  We had to start the movie early, though, because I didn’t want to miss that week’s episode of Heroes. 

Tuesday, we spent the afternoon sitting on a rock by the lake.  He took his laptop (since he’s self employed he had a few business things to see about) and I took the book I was reading.  Sadly, I still haven’t finished that book.  He was patient for the first 30 minutes after his computer battery could take no more, but then I saw that he was getting restless so we headed back in. 

We sat on the front porch for a while – me still with my book, him with a set of subdivision regulations.  No really, it was romantical.  It was for an auction we were going to that Saturday.  We were looking to buy 5 acres of land to put our dream home on.  He was reading through the paper work making sure our dream home could work in that subdivision.

After it started to get dark, we decided to go out for dinner.   Since we live in a tourist area that has practically every chain restaurant, we decided to hit a local pub.  I’d been craving fish and chips for a week or so and I couldn’t have asked for any better.  Since I’d had such good luck with choosing the comso earlier in the week, I decided to be adventurous try a St. Patrick’s (a delightful mix of orange juice, Jameson’s whiskey, and blue curcao).

We started Wednesday by heading out to downtown to check out the consignment and antique stores.  I ended up getting a new pair of dress pants & a new pair of cords at the consignment shops (they had a pair of plum colored boots that I loved by were a size too small) and Jay got a dress shirt and a pair of jeans. 

The antique store was our big splurge.  I found a gray pearl necklace/earring set that I immediately fell in love with.  My husband has two things he wastes money on – his nicotine addiction and me.  So even though I would have very few places to wear the necklace in the course in my lifetime, he forked out the $100 because he knew it would make me happy. 

Thursday was our last full day in Villa Rica, so we decided to check out the gold mining museum and pan for gold.  Villa Rica is known as the site of Georgia’s first gold rush, so we could leave without checking it out.  The people who worked there welcomed us with open arms.  They asked to take a picture of us for their website, and she printed out a copy and gave to us.

We had to check out and head home Friday morning.  For a vacation in a town we’d never heard of, it turned out to be the perfect spot for a romantic first week as husband and wife.

 

Since the whole family was a part of the wedding party, the morning started out pretty hectic.  My mother had made biscuits and gravy the day before so that we’d all have a hearty breakfast that would stick with us through the morning.  My brother-in-law and nephew (groomsman and ring bearer) had to be at the church at 12:30 with Jay and the rest of the guys.  

Parking in the National Park is at a premium, so we had to have a plan to get everyone to the church in as few cars as possible.  Jay’s mom had the first hair appointment of the day since she had to be at the church with the guys.  BIL and the little man went to the hair salon with my sister and I to catch a ride to the church with the rest of the groom’s peeps. 

Once the stylist (who’s also my cousin) finished with the Mother of the Groom, she started on my hair.  Originally I wanted to keep it very simple.  I contemplated doing my own hair, and just doing a low ponytail.  Every time I did a test run, I found something wrong with it.  I’m a perfectionist and wisely decided that I wouldn’t be able to suit myself.  I didn’t need that kind of pressure on my wedding day.

I’m so glad I made that choice.  She did a great job of keeping my hair simple, like I wanted, but still very elegant.  While my sister was getting her hair done, I did my makeup.  10:30 and the day was drama free…but not for long.

My parents and my niece (the princess) met us at the salon in my sister’s minivan and we were going to carpool to the church.  I had taken my makeup bag and veil into the salon, my parents had my dress, and my shoes were in the car my sister and I had driven.   I asked for the keys to get them out and transfer them to the van.  Only my sister had no clue where they were.  She looked in her purse, diaper bag, pockets – practically everywhere.

She started freaking out, but amazingly enough I didn’t.  I had on a pair of camo flip flops, but I knew that the dress was so long the shoes would never be seen.  My sister offered me her shoes and said she would wear the ugly ones, but since her dress was tea length I shot that idea down right away.  Just as we were about to give up and head on to the church, my mom found them.  To be honest, I can’t remember where, but I do remember feeling a twinge of disappointment that I had the heels to wear instead of the more comfortable flops. 

Even before the shoe drama, we were running a few minutes late, so there was a little tension about getting to the church at 1:15 as we had originally planned.  Of course I reassured myself that they couldn’t start without me!  If we were late we would just have to push pictures until after the ceremony. 

We worried about traffic getting to the wedding – we were marrying in a church in Cades Cove in the National Park.  Cades Cove is an 11 mile, one way loop.  And I was getting married on the weekend that the leaves were the prettiest of the fall.  With no traffic, the fastest that the road can be traveled is about 20 or 30.  When people are stopping to take pictures, traffic can be a bear.

Literally in our case.  About 5 miles before the loop, traffic in front of us came to a standstill.  At first we were worried that the road was just that backed up from people trying to get to the loop road.  Turns out, they were just stopping for wildlife.  Two bears were on the side of the road up ahead.  My father has never been a patient man, so on such a high anxiety day he was extra jump.  He tried honking his horn to make noise to chase the bear away.  Then he rolled down his window and screamed “if you wanna see a bear go to the d*mn zoo!”

Both actions were less than helpful.  As we approached the spot where the bears were my mom yelled up at my dad “slow down, the princess wants to see.”  So after berating the entire line of cars for stopping, my father stopped the car so my sister could get a picture and my niece could see the bears through her window.

Since there are no facilities at this one room church (no electricity either), we stopped at the camp ground parking lot before we headed into the loop.   Safe to say, my dad was tailgating as we left the camp ground.  The truck in front of us decided to be a smarty pants and go 3 miles an hour, even though there was no reason to.  My dad put the pedal to the metal and passed the truck.  As we zoomed by (at about 30 MPH) the driver of the truck gave us a big California howdy. 

Once we got to the church, most all of the guests were there – got their early wanting to be the traffic no doubt.  We did have a couple of hang ups.  The florist shorted us one bouquet, so my cousin walked down the aisle empty handed.  The princess apparently had a growth spurt b/c her ballet flats didn’t fit and she had to walk down the aisle barefoot.  During the unity sand, the pastor said “and for that reason a man should leave his wife” when he meant to say “leave his mother and father”. 

All problems aside, the wedding was perfect.  Parking was less of an issue than we had anticipated, the music was great, the kids did wonderfully (a remarkable feat given that my niece aka the flower princess is only 4 years old and the ring bearer was my 6 month old nephew).  We did a fair amount of pictures, but we were still able to get to the reception hall pretty close to the same time as the rest of our guests did.  Due to park regulations we couldn’t invite everyone to the wedding, but tried to include friends/family in the reception even if they could be a part of the wedding. 

Finally it was time for the moment Jay had been dreading since we got engaged – the first dance

He’s not a dancer, and certainly didn’t want all those eye watching him mess up.  I told him not to worry, all slow dancing involves is swaying back and forth.  But I wish I’d check on the length of the song – we danced to Keith Urban’s Memories of Us and it seemed to last forever!

Next up was the father-daughter dance.  I had set up a surprise for my dad.  All along I told him we weren’t having one.  When he heard Butterfly Kisses start playing you could see the surprise and delight in his eyes.  He started crying immediately.  I hugged him tight because I knew what was coming and couldn’t control the laughter. 

He looked confused at the record scratch then the familiar stoic opening.  “He had plastic bags wrapped ‘round his shoes, he was covered in the evening news...”  Everyone told me that I couldn’t play a song about a homeless guy at my wedding.  The only problem was that Almost Home by Craig Morgan is our song.  My father is a sap who cries at everything.  So when the song came out in 2003, he cried every time he heard it. 

And being a good daughter, I mocked him every time.  Whenever I hear it on the radio, I quickly call him, turn up the radio, and put the phone up to the speaker.  I knew it was the perfect choice for our father-daughter dance.  I had given the photographer heads up and he got it perfectly.  The sweet tears of my dad, the laughter from me, the confusion of the record scratch and best of all the “you little sh*t” look on my dad’s face when he realized that they were playing our song.  This picture was taken by my sister after the real song started playing.

Then it was time for the mother-son dance.  I mingled, going from table to table saying hello while my new husband danced with his mom.

The garter toss was something I was concerned about.  I knew in advance that we had very few single men coming, and I worried that the ones there would be too shy to come forward.  Thankfully the DJ was able to coax them out.

The bouquet toss was another story.  My friend that caught it swore she wasn’t trying – but then again she was standing in the middle of all the girls so she wasn’t running from it either!

Some of my family isn’t comfortable with dancing, so I worried that the DJ would be a waste and no one would dance.  Thankfully that wasn’t the case.  Everyone seemed to have a great time.

Jay was anxious to get home, so after a couple hours of dancing we called it a night. 

The getaway car was his dad’s Hummer, so after just a few feet of driving our Coach turned into a Pumpkin as we traded the Hummer for Jay’s Durango.  Since this is a G rated blog, I think the story stops here.

 

Leading up to the wedding, I had several people comment about my bridezilla status.  One friend even commented that I could potentially be the worst bridezilla in the history of the world, or at least she’s ever seen.  While part of me was offended by the comments, I have to say that the assumptions were based on fact.

While I’m not proud of it, I do have an explosive temper.  More than one hair brush has been beaten against the side of cabinet when I couldn’t get my hair to suit me.  I’ve even cried for weeks about a bad hair cut (as a matter of fact I’m just now getting one grown out from bad in January).  And then there was the cheeseburger incident…although I’ll still swear that I was provoked.   So the possibility of the diva in my coming out was quite likely.

With 5 months till the ceremony I picked out a $25 dress at TJ Maxx for my bridesmaids.  I also approved a hand-me-down dress that my niece’s baby sister had from a wedding her daughter was in.  “Run with it now before I change my mind.”  As easy going as I was at first, I thought there would come a point where I wanted what I wanted when I wanted it. 

Thankfully for all involved, that never happened.I never met in person with my baker.  I just picked out a couple of pictures of the internet and said “make it look something like this”.   When they asked for specifics, I told them that I wanted strawberry with butter cream icing.  With any other questions, from them as well as other vendors my common response was “You’re the professional.  I’m sure you know better than I would.”

I thought that the stress and anxiety would kick in with a month to go.  But it didn’t.  Then a week.  Nope, no stress, just a little excitement.  Surely the day before I would start to get anxious/nervous/cranky/hateful.  Ordinarily I would credit the mimosa, but since that wasn’t until later on the evening of the rehearsal dinner, that couldn’t be it.

The only sign of nerves was Thursday night/Friday morning.  I woke up at about 3 AM and couldn’t go back to sleep. I consider myself an organized person, and I have an infatuation with lists.   Going over the Friday to do list in my head, I had difficulty going back to sleep.  There was that stack of laundry to put away and packing to do.  Rather than lay in bed and waste precious hours, I got up and started on my tasks.  

About 15 minutes into my chores, my mother knocked on my door.  She has sleeping problems on a regular basis, so I was glad to see a sympathetic face.  Until she told me to be quiet and go back to bed. Thankfully, shortly after that my sister got up to feed my nephew and invited me to go out into the living room with her and the little man.  She said she would have come and talked to me sooner because she thinks there isn’t anything worse than being awake and alone in the middle of the night, but she thought my mom getting up was to make me feel better.

Once the day got started, the nerves subsided and I finished off my checklist.  My sister and I headed into town to get relaxing pedicures, and I got my nails done so they would look like their ragged selves for the pictures the next day.   Then we headed to work to drop of some items for the reception with a friend/coworker.  She is the queen of organization and event planning and so as I had in the past, I deferred to her professional opinion.

The plan was to meet my parents, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew at the rehearsal dinner site and all ride to the rehearsal site together.  (We got married in the National Park, so it was a bit of a drive).  Rehearsal was to start at 4, so we decided to meet at the restaurant at 2:30 to give us plenty of time.  2:50 my mom called.  They were still at the tux shop, as were Mr. Right and his parents. 

The shop insisted they try on their tuxes before they picked them up.  Good thing, because my future father-in-law popped a button on his trousers and my brother-in-law’s shirt sleeves would have properly fit a midget.  Also, they had set aside white shirts, rather than the ivory I had requested, so the ivory shirts weren’t pressed.  My father, the expert negotiator, said that my mom would press the shirt if they would toss in a garter for free.  The garter was a last minute purchase because I had misplaced the original.  Not sure if my mom agreed to the deal, but like it or not they were in there car on the way.  

In the mean time, my sister took me in CVS to show me her mad drug store deal shopping skillz.  I get free and more than free stuff there all the time.  I was not impressed with the two calming lemon waters and two chocolate bars purchase.  “You mean CVS actually makes people pay for things???”

My parents finally arrived only we couldn’t leave until the princess went potty.  My mom waltzed into the restaurant asking for the bathroom.  “We’re not eating here now, but we will be later.”  After a strange look from the hostess, she explained that we would be coming back for the rehearsal dinner.  “We never got a final number.  Is the bride with you?  We need to talk to her.”

No really you don’t.  At this point I was more frustrated than anything.  I had nothing to do with the rehearsal dinner, so I didn’t know numbers or menu or any other of their nitpicky questions they had.  I gave them my soon to be mother-in-law’s cell phone number and suggested they call her with any questions. Still not anxious.  Maybe concerned that the preacher would actually be on time for the rehearsal and wonder where we were.  But never anxious or nervous.

The remainder of the night was a breeze.  We walked through the wedding order several times and then headed to the rehearsal dinner.  The food was wonderful and I think everyone had a great time.Logistically Jay and I had figured that he would need to drive my car to the house, so that Sunday morning it would be there for us to leave for the honeymoon. 

 I double checked that my honeymoon bag was in my trunk. My only mistake was not checking to see if I got everything OUT of the car that I needed.  Half way home I realized that he had the wedding bag.  The bag with everyone’s folders.  The bag with the marriage license.  The bag with my “to do” lists.  Being a control freak, it was hard to know that someone else was responsible for something so important. 

Thankfully,  I had already given my sister and mother their folders, and they had copies of everything (marriage license excluded) that we needed.Were I bridezilla, I would have demanded that he bring the bag to me.  I decided that if I couldn’t trust him with this one detail of the wedding, how was I going to trust him with the rest of my life?  Amazingly enough, I slept better that night.

A couple of weeks ago, Jay and I met with our photographer for the first time in person. I had reviewed his work online and he and I had spoken over the phone on several occasions. He offered to do a free engagement portrait session, and being one to never turn down free, we accepted. Jay and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to get a good feel for our photographer's style and what it would be like to work with him.

We scheduled the meeting at 6:30, to give Jay plenty of time to get off work and get to the location without being rushed. It gave me plenty of time to waste, since I get off work at 5, and the location was less than 5 minutes from my work.
Thankfully I have plenty of wedding books to read. So after primping in the office bathroom for 30 minutes, I found myself a park bench and began reading Dazzled to Frazzled and Back Again by Ginger Kolbaba. At about 5:45, I saw a gentleman get out of his car and start circling the court house (where we had decided to have the pictures taken). I wondered if it was him, but decided that it was too early.

About 15 minutes later he approached me “you’re name wouldn’t happen to be Brooke would it?” Score one point for the photographer for arriving early to prep and scouting out spots as well as being able to spot the bride on a park bench reading a wedding book ;). He and I talked for another 15 minutes or so just trying to get to know one another better as well as speaking of things specifically that I want him to catch on the day of the wedding. 

We saw the proofs last week and they turned out great! Mr. Right and I need to sort through them and decide which one we’re going to send to the paper.

The bridesmaids dresses process couldn't have went more smoothly. I was stressed at how we were going to go shopping when my sister, who just had a baby 2 months ago, insists that she's not trying anything on. And anything that fits her now better not fit her by the time the wedding gets here. (She's really not a diva, just hormonal). My cousin (and only other bridesmaid) suggested that we all meet up and shop for dresses off the rack. I had decided that I would be okay if my bridesmaids didn't have the same dress.

While I don't believe that God cares about trivial things (my mother and I have argued about whether or not God cares about the kind of curtains she has in the bedroom - long story), I do believe that God loves His children. Like any good father, He wants to calm our fears and anxietys. To my family who's "spiritual gift" is worry, He constantly has to remind us that He's got it all under control.

Lesson learned this time via TJ Maxx. God answered a prayer though a discount clothing store. Sounds ridiclous huh? But as I walked toward the dressing room I saw a tea length purple halter dress. Not exactly the shade I wanted, but definitely the perfect style to fit the body type of my bridesmaids. My biggest concern for my sister was finding something that would allow for her breastfeeding body. This empire waisted dress was perfect. I called both the ladies and asked what size they would need. Each requested a size up. For the price ($25) they could easily have it altered down to fit them if need be.







I'm quite convinced that this qualifies me for best Bride of the year. Sure, they will probably never wear this dress again. Let's face it, for $25 who really cares. And we all really know that they would have never worn a $150 dress again either.

I can only say that God has now used this blog to remind me of His goodness. Funny, when I started writing...um...rambling I thought I was going to focus on the potential groomsman crisis. But the Lord instead reminded me that its not about the dress, or the tux, or even who is standing up with you. This is the day I will confess my love for the man of my dreams before God and my family, and will make a convenant to always honor that love. As long as God's invited, I've got nothing to worry about.

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Phillipians 4:6

While the common trend in weddings is to hire a wedding planner to organize the event, my tight budget wouldn't allow me to pay someone to do tasks that I am more than capable of doing myself. Jay and I new that we wanted to get married in Cades Cove, a section of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, most of the other details still had to be worked out.

We settled on a reception location - it was love at first site. When we first saw the Lodge at Hidden Mountain we fell in love. It had a rustic charm that matched well with the Missonary Baptist Church



yet it still offered a classic elegance that every girl dreams about for her wedding. We had to change the Wedding date, because the room was already booked, but we decided that it was well worth it. Not only was the location perfect but the price was well under that of ordinary hotel conference rooms! With this location we don't even need table linens. The pounded copper would be a crime to cover up! Center pieces will be our only decorative cost for this facility.

As we were booking the room, she gave us an informational packet to help us along in the planning. Included was a list of catering choices. We weren't limited to that list, but it gave us a head start on who had been used in the past. From this list I found my Chef. She was able to give me what I wanted for a very reasonable price. In addition to that, she was very likeable. I realize a good personality doesn't have any effect on food - but it does make the planning process a whole lot easier and more stress free!!

In addition, she gave me another wonderful tip to make my wedding even more beautiful. She is currently planning her daughter's wedding, so she is full of helpful ideas. She suggested, since the cups at the hall are plastic, she suggested that instead I use mason jars. Brilliant idea, since it works perfectly with our theme. Its just another way to dress up the table without spending a lot of money.

The problem? I don't have 200 mason jars. I called my grandmother, but she has started canning less and less as she gets older. So I resigned myself to the less decorative plastic cups. I just couldn't justify spending $100+ on jars that wouldn't be used again.

Then God dropped the solution in my lap. At my church, there is a couple that my family has fallen in love with and they have adopted us as their own. My mom called one evening while I was at Jay's house and told me that I needed to call my adopted grandmother. She had mason jars she was taking to the Goodwill and she just wanted to check to see if anyone in my family wanted them for canning.

I immediately called her and let her know that I needed them. "You don't can?" "No, but I have a perfect use for them." I went on to explain how I was wanting them, but I couldn't get my hands on any. No doubt this was a blessing from God.

Day 4 – our last day in New York City.  Somehow (my anal careful planning) we had managed to squeeze all the major landmarks/points of interest into three days.  Friday would just be a day to walk around the city one last time before we headed to see Jay's parents in Ohio. 

 

Jay wanted to see Wall Street, so we took a moment for a photo.  While there was no formal line to get a picture in front of the bull, plenty of people were trying to do it. 

 

Since that kind police officer foiled our plans to visit Century 21 on Wednesday, we decided to head that direction.   I quickly learned that discount shopping in NYC isn't the same as discount shopping at the Five Oaks Outlet Malls or at the consignment stores in K-town.  A whole city block full of discount shoes and clothing and I purchased one item – a work out top. Everything else either didn't fit properly or was too expensive (hello European designer shoes!) 

Jay stopped for lunch next door and got a couple of slices of pizza.  Since the small restaurant was standing room only, we found a flower planter on the sidewalk outside and took a seat while he ate.   Although I had been depressed about my unsuccessful shopping attempt, I was quickly given a dose of perspective as we crossed the street and saw where the World Trade Center buildings use to stand.   It had changed a lot since my visit four years ago. 

 

While I felt sad just remembering that tragic event, it also saddened me to see how life was still going on.  Building projects on the site and the pedestrians as they hustled by without a glance seemed to say that this was just another block on the streets of New York.   I suppose that I am looking at it all wrong and it's actually a testament to the strength and the resilience of the people of New York. 

Our only other stop for the day was Central Park. 

 

We had forgotten to get pictures of the spot where Jay proposed, and we decided to head back since we had a little spare time.  My dramatic side got the best of me and I decided a little reenactment was in order.  After savoring the moment (again), we headed back on the subway and to the ferry.   Our trip to NYC was over.  Our journey through New Jersey had just begun.  Somewhere in all my planning, I didn't consider that we would be heading out of town right at 5 o'clock.  We didn't reach Ohio until well into the night.  Good thing I sleep easily in the car!

After starting the morning once again with a lovely breakfast – I hope Jay doesn't get too use to it – we headed to the Statue of Liberty.  Only to find that there was a two hour wait once we purchased our tickets.  The lady in the ticket line beside us was getting cranky because she thought someone jumped her in line.  I turned around to see what the commotion was about and there stood HURLEY!!  Okay so not really.  But he really did look like him! I wanted to snap a picture but since there was nothing around that I could have pretended to be taking a picture of, you'll just have to take my word for it.

After about 30 minutes in line, we decided that we would get lunch from a street vendor.  $2 for a salted pretzel and $2 for a bottled Sunkist.   Only when Jay gave the guy a $10 he only gave $4 change.  Jay questioned his math and he said that the salt was an extra $2, so Jay pointed to where it said "salted" for $2 on the sign.  So then the vendor said that the drink was $4, once again Jay pointed to the bottled drink sign that said $2.  The vendor insisted that the $2 only covered Pepsi's and that the Sunkist was more – Jay immediately traded the Sunkist for the Pepsi and took his additional $2.

At first I didn't get why the guy was doing that, and Jay had to explain it to me.  When I commented that I was too naïve for the city, the lady behind us mentioned that she'd had the same problem with the vendor and asked where we were from.  She and her husband were from Australia, visiting their niece who lived in NYC.  They were very friendly and we spent the remainder of the 1 ½ wait chatting with them.  We finally made it to the place where they take your tickets, and were directed inside to a big security building.  It looked similar to airport security – they had containers to empty your pockets and put your purses and jackets in which were sent through a metal detector while each visitor had to walk through one as well.  As we were standing there – already stripped of our belongings, but not yet through the metal detector, the guy in front of me in line leaned back onto my things, knocking them onto the ground.  I freaked out a little because my camera was in the container, but thankfully nothing was hurt.

 

First stop off the ferry was Liberty Island.  We hadn't been able to get tickets to tour the statue, so we walked around her, and snapped a few pictures, and then it was back to the ferry. 

 

Ellis Island was the next stop.  Although I had been there before, during my trip 4 years ago, I remained disappointed that the building was not still set up like it was back in 1890.  I would have preferred it to remain historically accurate; instead it was turned into a museum – gift/snack shop and all. 

 

We passed on the Ellis Island t-shirts, mugs, and pens, but did get one cheesy memento of the place – a flattened penny with a picture of the building on it.  The first spring Jay and I were together we were at Nascar Speedpark and one of us commented on how cheesy the "I love you" penny making machine was.  Jay took it as a personal challenge and made me one.  When we saw the machine at Ellis Island, he decided that my change purse needed another.

 

On the ferry ride back to Manhattan, Jay and I met a guy about our age from Ireland.  Jay had trouble understanding him, so I had to translate.  He was in town visiting a friend and planning on catching the Yankees Red Sox game that evening.  I told him that my brother-in-law was from Carrickfergus and he told me the name of his hometown.  It sounded like Coors or Cars or something like that, but I wasn't able to understand more than he was from the Republic.  After disembarking the ferry, it was time for us to head to the Bronx – our baseball game didn't start till 7, but we weren't sure how long it would take us.  And we definitely wanted to get their early.  Jay was dying for dip (he had ran out earlier in the day) and we weren't sure where to find it.  After the previous day's fiasco asking for directions from the cop, we were uneasy about asking someone, but really didn't have a choice.  We stopped at a news stand, and Jay asked where the closest place to get cigarettes was.   We could tell that the guy working the stand wasn't a native English speaker, so Jay thought better of wasting time trying to explain what "dip" was.  He was very nice and sent us across the street to a deli.  They did indeed sell cigarettes, but not smokeless tobacco.  He suggested that we go to the tobacco store just up the street, but told us to hurry because they might close at 5.  I must Jay a lot (or else still be grateful for the rock on my hand) because I took off running right behind him.  Thankfully, this store did have something suitable.  Not quite natural cut grizzly, but mint skoal was going to work well enough that he wouldn't be antsy during the ball game.  As the guy behind the counter rang it up, I asked Jay if he wanted to get two to ensure that he didn't get into this predicament again, then the salesman said "$7.10 please".   Jay and I both agreed that one can would do him. 

Then it was off to the subway – we caught the subway near the Staten Island ferry port and headed toward the Bronx.  Or so I thought.  The more I looked at the map I realized that we weren't on the right train.   So we hopped off, walked a couple of blocks, and got to the right one.  Or so I thought.   It was the right train line, only we were on the wrong side – we needed to be going the other direction.  A lady that worked their noticed our frustration and told us how we could get to the correct side without exiting the turnstiles and having to pay another fair.   Once we were heading in the right direction, I commented to Jay that I could understand why New York City cops had a bad name.  The native New Yorker gave us wrong directions on purpose, getting us even more lost and frustrated with the city.  In contract the three ethnic people that we got assistance from that day went above and beyond to help us out with something they really didn't care about. 

The express train was taking us in the right direction, but once in the Bronx we had one final change over so that we could get off at Yankee Stadium.  We knew for sure it was the right train when we saw how crowded it was.  We were barely able to squeeze on.  I wasn't comfortable wearing my newly acquired bling on a crowded subway, so I turned it around backwards so that the diamond was pressed into the palm of my hand. 

As we stepped off the Subway the new stadium under construction was on our right, and the real Yankee Stadium was on our left.  Just seeing it – knowing that this was the last year the house that Ruth built would be standing brought a tear to my eye.  Somehow I doubt that the house that 'Roids built will be able to live up the original's legacy.  We found a ticket gate and got in line.  I had purchased them on Stub Hub and was told that was a reputable online site, but when we got to the turnstile and the usher scanned our tickets – it beeped red and my heart skipped a beat.  Turns out the bleachers have a separate entrance than the rest of the stadium and we were instructed to go around and enter on the other side. 

 

We also found out that Monument Park is only accessible with regular game tickets, not bleacher tickets.  I was disappointed that I wouldn't get to see Gehrig's plaque, but I think Jay was more bummed than me.  He even offered to hop the fence and get a picture of it for me.  I assured him that was okay – I would prefer not to have a picture if it meant having to spend time in the Bronx police station. 

 

We take our seats and settle in for THE game of a lifetime.

 

It was hard to believe that I was actually going to see a Yankees/Red Sox game in Yankee stadium.  Fortunately I had convinced Jay to leave his camo Boston hat in the room.  The bleacher creatures taunted anyone wearing Sox paraphernalia.  When Manny Ramirez hit a home run into the outfield – the fans threw the ball back.  The Red Sox dominated New York until the last inning when the Yankees finally got their second wind.  Unfortunately it wasn't enough and the Sox still won. 

 

Afterward, we walked around to the other side of the building and found the sidewalks barricaded.  We had stumbled upon the player's exit. 

 

The only player that came anywhere close to us was Johnny Damon.  The rest of the guys just got straight on the bus.  He came over and signed autographs. 

 

I finally convinced Jay that we had seen everyone we were going to see, and we headed back toward the subway.  By the time we got on the ferry I was so tired I couldn't keep my eyes open and I fell asleep.  I woke up just as we were docking and we scurried out to the bus stop – perfect timing to catch the bus back to the bed and breakfast.

I knew the day would be special when the sun gently awoke me around 7AM.  Or else I just woke up and couldn't go back to sleep.  Either way I went ahead and got showered so that I was mostly ready when it was time to head downstairs and enjoy the breakfast part of the Bed and Breakfast concept.  Our hostess seemed delighted to fix us bacon and scrambled eggs.  She was even more excited when she sat down at the table and started talking politics. 

After waiting for the conversation to naturally come to a close and finding no such opportunity, I excused myself to come upstairs and finish getting ready.

Jay: Skip to the part where I ask you to marry me.

Brooke: I'm getting there, be patient.

After putting the finishing touches on my makeup, and curling my hair, Jay was still downstairs. His phone started ringing and I thought that would be my golden opportunity - I would take him the phone, he would pretend it was terribly important and excuse himself and then we would be home free.  The caller, his neighbor Kevan, didn't realize we were on vacation and felt bad for bothering Jay.  I tried to convince him he was a godsend, but I don't think he quite understood my desperation.  And Jay didn't get the plan either.  So about 10 minutes after the phone call I just had to go downstairs and tell him that we needed to leave soon.

We walked to the bus stop and saw that the next bus wasn't due for another 20 minutes, so we decided to drive again and park in a municipal lot.   Unfortunately for me, the lot closes at 10 which means we wouldn't be able to see a Broadway show.  I could just see the disappointment in Jay's eyes, but I promised I'd find a way to make it up to him.

Since we were getting such a late start, when we got off the ferry we decided to take the subway directly to the Tavern on the Green.  Our reservations were at 12:30 and we didn't want to be late.  We were actually about 30 minutes early, so I decided to make good use of my time and petition ABC to bring back Boone, Charlie, and a message board that works properly. 

After my work there was done, we took a stroll through the sheep field and learned that the Tavern use to house sheep before it was converted into a fancy restaurant. 

 

Jay had made reservations for us Easter weekend, and although we were still a few minutes early we were escorted directly to our table.  I was afraid that the food on the menu would be too fancy for me, but they had fish and chips as well as a bacon cheeseburger.  I got the fish and chips and ordered a peach bellini.  It was the most expensive drink I've ever had, but it was delicious.  Wanna see what a $12 coctail looks like?

Wanna see what my boyfriend looks like when I'm doing something that embarasses him?

My fish and chips were served with a individual sized glass bottle of ketchup.  Since I didn't use it for my fries chips, I threw it in my purse.  And might I say its quite a magical purse.  I got it for $1 at K-Mart on Christmas Eve and it seems to be the bag that won't quit.  At any given time today I had the following items: 3 cell phones, one large camera, a wallet, a bottle of ketchup, a bottle of hand sanitizer, a framed picture from the Tavern, a calculator, chap stick, lip gloss, a mirror, and feminine hegine products.   So while I didn't get my father a rock from Central Park - he does have a bottle of ketchup to add to his collection.  Fancy ketchup at that. 

After finishing up our meal we headed outside to get a few pictures of the garden. 

Right outside the restaurant there were several horse drawn carriages.  We went past the building where John Lennon was killed and then turned into the Strawberry Fields portion of the Park. 

 

A note on the carriage reminded us that tips were "customery" and appreciated.  Jay commented that proper spelling on official signs is also appreciated, but that certainly didn't get us any where.

We scouted out the map, then headed north toward the lake and Belvedere Castle.

 

The note on the door entering said "no food, drink, animals, or weddings (proposals only).  Hmmm...I wondered to myself...foreshadowing of what was to come??  Nope.  We went up to the tip top, took pictures, and walked back down.

I needed to find a bathroom, but none were easily accessible from where we were in the park.  As we were headed out to the park, Jay mentioned that he was tired and he wanted to rest for a little bit from all the walking and sit down on a secluded bench.  I thought it was odd that he was tired when I wasn't, but I didn't say anything.  As usual he read my mind and asked me if I was going to blog and let all my friends know that he was a sissy that tired quickly walking around in the park.  Then he asked me if I remembered our first date - sitting outside of Johnny Carino's on a bench waiting to be seated.  "I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you." Then the moment happened - he got down on one knee.  

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Jay: Brooke Elizabeth Justus, will you marry me?

Me: Of course I will.  I love you

At this point we're hugging.  And then the bling.  23 diamonds.  One marqee cut diamond in the center with rows of 3 deep baggets on the sides for 3 rows on either side and the last row with 2 diamonds.  Making it all the more beautiful is the fact that the center diamond was the stone that his father first gave to his mother.

I have to confess that I was so impressed with the ring that I kept saying a phrase that my grandmother would chastise me for.  But when the time comes we can delete that from the story to tell the kids right?

We sat on the bench for a while longer, just taking the moment in.  Then he confessed that from the time we entered Central Park to the moment he asked he was on the look out for an empty bench that wasn't heavily populated.  I tried to call my sister to let her be the first to know (my parents had already been tipped off by Jay) but she didn't answer.  She called me back fairly quick, and it didn't take her long to confess that Mother had already spilled the beans.  I'm currently taking suggestions on how to dress shop for a Matron of Honor that's 8 months pregnant when the wedding is only 6 months away. 

The rest of the calls had to wait as we got on the subway and intended to head toward Filene's Basement to check out their bargains.  Little did we know there was an "investigation" on the subway of a stalled train. We were forced to head Uptown to 125th Street in Harlem to board a Downtown Train back to 23rd Street in Manhattan.

After traveling 102 blocks on the subway, we arrived at Filene's Basement. After all a girl needs a new dress to coordinate with her newly aquired accessory.  A mass text message went out to all my friends letting them know the big news.  One of my cousins responded back "huh?" to my text.  The original message had said "a silver eagle has landed with a couple of carrots in its mouth."  Then I got a call from Maria - when I answered the phone she said "who is this?"  It took only knowing that the text was from me for her to figure it out. 

After purchasing a lovely wrap dress in the store - and talking to my Mamaw, my brother-in-law, and my niece - we headed toward Century 21 Department Store.  Or so we thought.  It felt like we walked forever and then walked some more.  Remember me looking for a restroom in Central Park - I still hadn't found one.  Finally we found a sandwich/soup cafe that we stopped in to eat at and I headed straight for the restroom.  We discovered quickly that we wanted to get in and get out in a hurry.  Since the ladies room door was locked, I headed into the men's. 

Out on the street we still had no clue where we were going.  We were hesistant to ask for directions, but saw a group of cops on the side of the road and decided to go ahead and ask.  This cocky sonofa pieceof officer interrupted us with the question of directions we asked and assured us that if we turned left at Chambers it would run right into the store.  Turns out he gave us directions straight to the police station....

When we turned off of Broadway onto Chambers Jay said that the turn felt wrong and surely Broadway would take us there.  He was right.  After that detour we got back on track.  We even found two roads adjacent to each other named "Jay" and "Worth"

 

At 8 o'clock on the nose we headed into Century 21's doors, only to be turned away.  It was closing time.  And if that lousy, unprintable name hadn't sent us off on a wild goose chase, we would have made it.  The NYPD is going to receive a scathing email from me.  I'm sure he'll either be repremanded or fired.

When we walked out of the store I saw heaven across the street.  Okay so it was just McDonald's, but I was really thirsty and the thought of a large coke sounded like a godsend!  Thanks to Jay and google map (accessed on his fancy cell phone) we walked a few blocks down and got on the subway to finally head home.  I was exhausted and took my shoes off on the ferry ride back.  I think I got an evil look from a young girl as I was complaining about my feet hurting.  So because she walks with a cane she thinks she can judge my aching feet?  Yeah, I felt pretty bad about that.

When we got back to the B&B my fiance (its really fun to say that) gave me a wonderful footrub.  I'm a lucky girl.

Tomorrow's itnerary: Ellis Island, Statue of Liberty, World Trade Center site, Century 21, and the Yankees/Red Sox game.

New York Day 2 Photo Gallery

New York Day 1 Photo Gallery

Jay and I planned to head out a midnight Monday night/Tuesday morning.  He was going to sleep in Monday morning so that he could take the first driving shift, and I would slept straight away.  Then once the sun came up I would take over and he would sleep.  Also, please know that when I say "plan" I don't mean something we casually decided in conversation.  I mean that according to the excel spreadsheet of the week's events we were leaving at twelve on the nose.

Jay, being new to the vacationing with a Justus phenomenon, took the midnight departure time as an approximate - and didn't start packing until the clock struck twelve.  We finally got on the road about 12:30 and as planned about Mo-town I laid my seat back.  But before I could get to sleep, I couldn't help but hear the radio call in program that he was listening to.   Ever heard of John Teeter?  Yeah us neither.  Apparently he is a time traveler from the year 2030 that is hanging out in 2008 under the watchful eye of the United States government.  And one of the show's listeners is good friends with one of Teeter's bodyguards.  All the proof I need to believe.

At about the 400 mile mark, we stopped for gas and I took over driving.  Jay was supposed to use the time to get some sleep so that he would be able to better enjoy NYC this afternoon, but he was too impressed by the farmland and the historic farm houses to fall asleep.   When I stopped at McDonald's for a potty break, I made the mistake of choosing the exit with the mega-Cabellla's store on the same exit.   I knew that going into the store would deviate from the plan too much, so I made sure the doors were locked and got out of dodge quickly as possible.

Today alone, Jay and I have been 7 states: Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York.  Without a doubt New Jersey was the ugliest of them all.  It didn't help matters that while driving on the Jersey turnpike I got cut off by two drivers.  Thanks to my superior driving skills I managed to avoid an accident.  Quit laughing Jay, I am a good driver.  Honestly thought even he said that neither was my fault and trust me, whenever I made the slightest lapse in judgment he felt the need to let me know.  Just a heads up apparently he's the "work your signal before changing lanes" police. 

After settling into the Bed & Breakfast we are staying at, we circled Staten Island looking for a place to park so that we could catch the ferry to Manhattan.  The plan - according to my itnerary - was to visit Battery Park, Ellis Island, and the Statue of Liberty this afternoon.  Then we would have dinner and call it an early night to recover from the days travel.  I failed to thoroughly research my plan, because Ellis Island closes at 1 in the afternoon.  We didn't arrive until after 2. Once again, my plan for the day was thrwarted.  We control freaks don't take too kindly to that, but at least we were able to cover the Battery Park portion of the schedule.

 

We I decided that the subway to Time Square would be our fallback plan, but I was so distraught over my faulty planning it took me a few minutes to figure out which train we should be on.  My manly man turned into a sissy and worried the whole time we were waiting for the subway that someone would push him onto the tracks.  We finally made it safely to Time Square and took a moment to just take in the city. 

 

Then we headed to the 2nd story of Mickey Dee's to have a seat and take a look at the map.  Jay had to look up a few addresses, but we were able to plot out the rest of the afternoon's activities. 

Next stop was Rockerfeller Center, NBC Studios, and Radio City Music Hall.  On our way to the Empire State Building, we took a brief detour into the New York City Public Library. 

 

On display they have a Bible dating back to the 1400s, the original stuffed animals that inspired the Winnie the Poo characters, and a Honus Wagner 1909 baseball card.

We didn't go up into the Empire State Building, but admired it from outside.

Then we headed toward Madison Square Garden - with the convenient trip inside Macy's on the way.

 

Of course while we were in Ann Taylor, I found a t-shirt dress that I really liked, but couldn't justify spending $40 on that casual of an outfit.  So when I passed H&M, I insisted on stopping item.  I found a cute sundress there for $14.  Instead of smiling and saying that he liked the dress, Jay foolishly gave me his honest opinion.  He liked the expensive dress (that probably wouldn't have even fit my pear shape) better than the more thrifty, a-line dress that would have looked very cute on me. 

Our last stop of the evening was at Lasagna, a restaurant on 20th and 8th that a friend of a friend suggested (Ferd - tell him I said thanks!!)  It was reseasonably priced and the food was excellent.  I ordered angel hair chicken primevera, and when it was served it was covered in mushrooms.  So my darling love gave me his yummy lasagna and ate the fungus covered dish instead.  I also must brag on myself for a moment because as the hostess was seating us, she complimented my sweater.  Who would have thought a $7 find at Ross Dress for Less would be considered fashionable in Manhattan?

On tap for tomorrow - Central Park, the Tavern on the Green, shopping, and a Broadway musical.

Every year, Cure Finders, a charity organization benefiting Cystic Fibrosis research holds a Valentine’s dinner and dance.  This year was my third year working the event – and Jay’s 2^nd year.  I started working for the City a little over three years ago, but didn’t get recruited to help till after my 1^st anniversary with the City.  The first year Kristi and worked the coat check station – freezing the entire night.  We, of course, were positioned right beside the door and it was cold enough to snow that evening.  I hadn’t thought to bring shoes to change into, so my opened toed sandals were cold as I walked through the snow to my car.  

I’m not sure what she did right (or wrong) but the next year she got moved from the position and Jay and I worked as the coat checks for the evening.  We were scheduled to do the same this year, but at the last minute we got promoted.  We would be working registration and silent auction check out for the evening.

First thing I had to do was find a formal dress for the event.  I started my search several months before hand at the store where I purchased last year’s dress – Ross Dress for Less.  I tried on several dresses at the store in Bristol, as well as the Knoxville store – neither with any success.  At the mall, I found a strapless purple dress at B. Moss.  It had two major things going for it – the price was right and it was from my favorite store.  It didn’t hurt matters that it was a size 4!  I took it home and tried it on for Jay one evening.  “That’s nice.  Isn’t that a lot like what Kelly wore last year?”

 

It was nothing like Kelly’s dress from 2007 – hers was a gray spaghetti strapped dress, my dress was strapless and purple.  The one common factor between the two was that they were both knee length.  But the damage had already been done.  I didn’t want be guilty of the fashion faux paus of wearing a similar dress, even if it was for a different year.  Not to mention the fact that the size 4 dress was too big for me.  If the evening’s festivities called for me to raise my arms above my head, my dress was sure to head south.  The dress was definitely headed back to the store – but not before I told absolutely everyone that I knew I would need a size 2 in the dress for it to work.

Unfortunately, since I got it off the sale rack, a smaller size wasn’t available.  Kelly and I went shopping at West Town Mall and I took the dress back for a refund.  She and I hit every store in the mall that could possibly sell a dress nice enough for this event.  I had some pretty strict criteria, so finding “the dress” was difficult.  I didn’t want to spend over $50 and I wanted my knees covered.  Ideally, I wanted a sapphire dress, because I thought it would look good with my hair/skin coloring, but I was going to take what I could get for the price. 

After trying on countless dresses all day, I tried on one that I doubted would work.  It was the perfect color blue, so I doubted I could be so lucky for it to look right on me.  I was right it didn’t look good – it looked perfect.  This dress seemed to be made for my body.  The low cut halter worked because of my lack of endowment up top, and the a-line cut of the dress floated away from my booty, so it wasn’t too tight on my lower half.  I explained to Jay later that evening I was sure God was looking out for me and rewarding my thrifty shopping.  Kelly later rejected that idea – “With a neckline like that, God didn’t have a thing to do with it!”

The day of the event I helped set up before hand, and brought all my stuff to get ready at the hotel.  Since I wouldn’t get a chance to wash my hair before the event, I wore a banana clip circa 1990 so that I wouldn’t get a line in my hair from a ponytail holder.  When set up was complete, Kelly and I headed to the hotel to get ready.  I had just put the finishing touches on my hair and makeup when Jay called, saying he had arrived.   Since we had a few moments before the real work began, we got in line to have our professional portrait taken by Gary Woods Photography. 

 

We snagged a few pieces of cheese of the appetizer tray and headed to our first station.  Our first duty of the evening was guest registration.  Fairly simple job – ask the person their name, and find their name card, showing which table they are to be seated at.  Jay was quite impressed when Congressman David Davis came through his line.  Enough, that when Jay got home that evening he looked up Rep Davis’s policy when he got home that evening. 

After most of the attendees had arrived, Jay and I had a break to look around.  We checked out the silent auction then got in the buffet line.   Dessert quickly followed.  You  know you are at a fancy event when the dessert has a name like it’s a work of art.

 

Jay had trouble getting Swan Lake to cooperate.  He’d eaten the mousse out of the center, but didn’t know how to politely eat the white chocolate.  Brett suggested that he turn the swan on its side and break it in half.  When I saw the result I decided to pick mine up with my fingers and bite its head off.  Jay had blue food coloring all over his white shirt and suit pants.  And wanted to bite Brett’s head off for making the suggestion.

After dinner, we headed back to the tables in the front to start work on the silent auction.  Once the auction was over, we were instructed to compile the winners and tallied what they owed.   Since the event was a few minutes behind, we had a moment to relax.  Kelly and Maria begged for a mention in the my blog – they are big fans of this site – and I couldn’t turn them down.  So here you go ladies, your www.brookeandjay.com debut!

 

Lisa, a coworker and wife of Brett, is normally the one pushing for me to get a ring.  She does a ring check after every major holiday, and was quite disappointed that he didn’t pop the question on Martin Luther King Jr. day.  Since we had a moment before the counting began, I put Brett on the hot seat about when he was going to give his wife of over twenty years an engagement ring.  I had about as much success as she has with me. 

 

As the night wore on, Papa John’s pizza was provided for the workers.  I swear I think Jay enjoyed the pizza more than the prime rib and salmon that was served.  Once most of the silent auction bidders had picked up their loot, Jay and I decided to call it a night.  Of course no blog is completely without our signature arm length photo.  Not quite Gary Woods Photography – but I think I’ll keep him. 

The premise of 27 Dresses isn’t that all that different from most romantic comedies coming out of Hollywood – but for some reason this one caught my eye.  I suppose I could relate somewhat with the “always the bridesmaid” feeling – only mine is more of an “always a bridal shower guest” phenomenon.  I wasn’t sure how I was going to talk Jay into seeing a movie about weddings, knowing that he hates going to them in real life and the movie version could quite possibly be more excruciating.  My friend Melissa (who was married before I met her so I never got the honor of witnessing her walk down the aisle) mentioned that she and her husband Jimmy were going to see the movie and invited Jay and I along.  Or else she mentioned going out on a date with her husband and I invited me along.  Either way, I had a strategy.  Sell Jay on the idea of dinner and a movie with friends, and then spring it on him that we were going to see a chick flick.

I should have known something was up when he commented that Katherine Heigl wasn’t that attractive after seeing the previews for the movie.  This is a woman who was voted the #1 hottest girl of 2007 by askmen.com.   I dismissed it as just the scenes they used in the preview, and had no complaints about the leading man – James Marsden. 

As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it.  It was funny and romantic without having those sickening sweet moments that call for a lovesick bag.  Or else maybe I’m so use to those moments in real life that the ones in the movie didn’t bother me.  Either way I had no complaints about the movie – with one exception.  They quite obviously were trying to make Heigl look frumpy, presumably so it would be understandable why she had never made the trip down the aisle herself.  Her ordinarily (can’t say naturally as that’s an unknown) blonde hair is dyed a darker mousy brown color.  And her clothing, while stylish and age appropriate, are very conservative.  Even in the scene where she and her best friend are taking yoga, every woman in the class is wearing skin tight tops and pants as is necessary to accommodate yoga moves.  Heigl’s character Jane however, is wearing an oversized top with her yoga pants.  Is this supposed to fool us into thinking that she could possibly be over weight?

As a single woman in my late twenties, I find it offensive that they would even hint that a girl must be physically unattractive if she is single after a current age.  Of course there are women I know who have already married that are prettier and younger than me.  But in my experience, prettier doesn’t make the difference.  Marriage is about finding that one person who brings out the best in you.  The one who you can love unconditionally and can return that love to you.  Sure, attraction helps speed up the process, but attraction alone does not lead to happily ever after.   The movie even points out that the attraction between Jane’s boss and sister isn’t good enough to start a life together.

I’ve been a bridesmaid in three (and a half) weddings in my life.  My first was my freshman year of college – I was asked to be in the wedding of a childhood friend.  I was a bridesmaid in the wedding of my first cousin Laura, as well as the maid of honor in my sister’s wedding.  I, along with 7 other girls, was an honorary bridesmaid in the wedding of a college friend of hours.  Does that mean I think all 4 of these girls are prettier/skinnier than me?  Just in case they are reading this, I’m gonna go with yes. 

Seriously though, I can sympathize with the character of Jane’s constant self comparisons to her sister (although mine is older, while Jane’s was younger).   My sister, Kelly, is a very loving, caring person.  She does well at making accommodating people and going out of her way to make conversation about them in social settings.   To steal a line from country music – she’s a survivor.  She’s looked death in the face and did not blink.  She’s the proud mother of a gorgeous little girl.  Her occupation is her passion as well as a service to her community – she is not only a teacher but a friend to her class of 6^th graders.  She and her husband, Paul, have worked hard to remodel their house, and I have to say that I’m quite envious at how well they’ve done.

One thing I won’t say is that she’s prettier than me.  And the reason that I won’t say it is because we look almost exactly alike!  So much so that it would be impossible for anyone (save my boyfriend and her husband) to say which one of us was better looking.  Growing up, although we didn’t see a resemblance, we were contently asked if we were twins.  Her kids in school had to ask which one she was in a picture of the two of us at my college graduation.  And just this week I ran into my Great-Aunt at a local restaurant and she mistook me for my sister.  Last night, she apologized if she acted funny around me, but she thought I was Kelly and she was looking for Paul and my niece.

I say all of this to say that the implication that she married at 24 and I’m still single at 27 has anything to do with our looks is simple absurd.   However, I have no problem accepting the suggestion that she’s married because she’s a better person.  More importantly, she found the man she was meant to spend the rest of her life with at the perfect moment.  I, too, have found my knight in shining armor if you will.  It just so happened that my perfect moment happened a little later in my life.

Not surprisingly, I take issue with the people that feel that your life doesn’t being until you get married.  In the movie, Jane points out that in every one of those dresses she had a great time with friends that she loved.  Life begins when you start living – not when you get a ring on your finger.  I’ve done some amazing things in my adult life.  I’ve lived on my own for several years.  I bought a new car, and had it paid off in a short amount of time.  To paraphrase Dave Ramsay, I decided to pay off my student loan before it was around for so long I thought it was a house hold pet.  And most importantly I’ve done things that someone with obligations of a spouse and children couldn’t have easily done.  I went to New York City with two girlfriends of mine and spent seven days being carefree.  Also, my father and I did a crazy road trip to Green Bay, Wisconsin to see the Packers take on the Arizona Cardinals – complete with Brett Favre’s first ever Lambeau Leap! 

So if the fact that I’m not a pant size 2 or I don’t have a perfect tan or golden blond hair is what got me where I am today, then I’m quite pleased with my looks.  They have served me well. 

 

A couple of weeks ago, Kariss called and left me a me asking me if Jay and I would like to go to a Knoxville Ice Bears game with her and Scott. Only it was a surprise for him – so we had to keep our mouths shut. Ironically, that same week Scott contacted me to let me know of the surprise birthday party he was having for Kariss the following week, and I needed to be sure to keep the plans under wraps so he could truly surprise her.

Kariss had called in the afternoon on Martin Luther King Jr. day to let us know the plans, but Jay and I were in the National Park looking for snow. Where’s the blog for that one you ask? Jay has never sent the pictures. But I did steal and wonderfully constructed snow man! Back to the current blog – by the time I received Kariss’s message it was in the evening and I suspect that she was at home with Scott. I called, but first asked if the coast was clear. After getting a negative response, I had to come up with a reason for calling. “Um…my mom saw you and Scott on TV yesterday.” I thanked her again for letting us tag along to see the Lady Vols play, and then I let her know to expect an email from me. Later in the week, she stopped by work with the tickets and I had to remind myself to not give away the surprise Scott had for her, as she and I discussed his surprise hockey game. Rather than carpooling, we each drove since they had other business in Knoxville. Being the cheapos Jay and I both are, we continued our tradition of parking in the Marriott parking lot and walking across the bridge to the coliseum. No need to waste $5 on parking when Marriott is just right there. Unfortunately, we forgot to stop and kiss half way across the bridge. In our defense, it was very cold and I was in a hurry to get inside where it was warm! I hadn’t been to a hockey game since the days of the Knoxville Cherokees and Jay had never been to a game in Knoxville. Not surprisingly, the tickets were the center ice – pretty much the best seats in the house.

If the banners hanging from the rafters were any indication, the Ice Bears were good. They were the SHPL 2005-2006 Presidents Cup Champions, whatever that means.

At hockey games, the crowd has to pay attention even if the game is boring. I learned that the hard way at my last Cherokee’s game when the puck came over the safety glass and hit the metal folding chair beside me. It had taken me by surprise, but I was young and spry so I managed to retrieve the puck before anyone else got to it. Had it been just a few feet closer to me, I probably wouldn’t be here today, writing this wonderful blog. This night, the Ice Bears were taking on the Renegades. Judging by their game sweaters, the Renegades were just generic pirates. While their team name sucked, their hockey skills didn’t, taking control of the game early on. As the game progressed, the Ice Bears had plenty of shots on goal but weren’t ever able to put it in the back of the net.

The first period ended and Jay and I headed out to get a beverage and some cotton candy. When we returned the mascots were taking on some other local “celebrities” in a hockey match. One was from a local radio station, a couple from the zoo, and a couple from the local minor league baseball team. To be honest I have no clue which side won, but that wasn’t really the point.

I don’t know enough about hockey or this particular league to know if the Ice Bears were just poor finishers, or if the Renegade goalie was just that good. By the end of the game, Knoxville had 40+ shots on goal, but not one point. The final score was 0-3, a pretty decisive victory for the visiting team. In my mind, there were no losers that evening. I got cotton candy, and y’all are getting a blog out of the deal! BJay

• Main
• archives
• Albums
• Links

«	September 2010					»
Su	Mo	Tu	We	Th	Fr	Sa
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29	30

• The Honeymoon
• Our Wedding Day
• Bridezilla?
• Shoes
• Wedding Photographer
• Bridesmaids Dresses
• Wedding Planning: the Reception
• NYC - Day 4
• NYC - Day 3
• NYC - Day 2

• October 2006 [4]
• Wedding [7]
• April 2008 [2]
• January 2008 [2]
• February 2008 [5]
• June 2007 [2]
• August 2007 [2]
• October 2007 [2]
• November 2006 [3]
• April 2007 [3]
• September 2007 [1]
• November 2007 [0]
• General [0]
• March 2007 [0]
• February 2007 [0]
• January 2007 [0]
• December 2006 [0]

• RSS 0.90
• RSS 1.0
• RSS 2.0
• Atom