Valentine Recovery

The Mrs. and I are sitting at home diligently studying psychology and tensor analysis and drinkng spiked chocolate milk. My homework is on the honor system, where I'm supposed to do as much as I feel is necessary. It's been a while since I felt the necessity of doing any, but since Wendy is such a good student, the least I can do is put in a good Sunday afternoon.

I've spent the last several weeks wrestling with a new light fixture for the bathroom. The original setup was sort of an homage to the mirrors on the Muppet Show, but wasn't actually mounted to the wall, since we wanted to make sure the paint was good and dry. About a month ago Wendy convinced me that it was, and we found a shiny industrial, genome-age one.  Our domestic infrastructure needed updating to incorporate, though, specifically replacing the gopher hole that the old light hung from with a plastic box that conveniently almost fit the provided adapter plate.  I think it was designed to fit a metric house, because there was considerably more sawing, bending, and bleeding than I would've thought strictly necessary.  That's what you get for buying decor from Lowe's; you have to buy another $80 in tools just to install it, and then $120 to repair the damage done in the process.

The search for a honeymoon location is behind schedule, mainly because I don't know if Cuba will be open by then.  It might be nice to go somewhere American tourists haven't completely spoiled yet.

Busy as a Bumblebee

Who knew a year would go by so quickly? With so many things going on at once in our lives, sometimes it seems like time is being played in fast forward. These are the times when decisions are needing to be made immediately, and I don't have any more time to just kind of sleep on it. However, in the past month and a half we have made some major decisions about the wedding. I have to give some credit to our wedding planner, Valerie, because she has really kept me on top of things (even when I wanted to put them off until later). We have decided on our photographer, DJ, caterer, florist, and... BRIDESMAIDS DRESSES.

Earlier in the summer of 2008 I thought that I had found the dresses for my bridesmaids. Then, I saw another dress on this photographer's website, and I fell in love with the dress. There was a slight problem though -- I could not find the dress on any of the designer websites. Some of my bridesmaids and I continued to search for this dress, but it was getting close to the time that I would need to make a decision on which one to go with for the wedding. My Maid of Honor, Jessica, and one of my bridesmaids, Courtney, visited a bridal shoppe in Jasper to try on some dresses that we had been looking at online. It came down to two dresses, both in taffeta and strapless. So, after about 20 minutes of discussing the pros and cons of both dresses, we FINALLY came to a unanimous decision. The dress color is a beautiful bright orange with a band of lavender around the waist. I think that it will be a versatile piece that could be used for future events (Homecoming 2009?). I'm kidding about the color. I haven't totally lost my mind.

Also, I meant to mention this earlier on the blog. Please do not let Jay's last post intimidate you all. Some of you may have gotten the impression that you will need to take dance lessons to be admitted into the reception. Jay is the pro. I'll be on the same level with all of you as far as dancing. I have mastered the Elaine (you know, from Seinfeld?), but I'm not quite as good as Carlton from the Fresh Prince. Hey, I may need to get dance lessons before the wedding. Would that be a good idea?

One more thing, and then I have to head to bed. Jay wants to pair up the bridesmaids and groomsmen in a cute/unique way. Anyone have any ideas? Here are the candidates:
Bridesmaids
Jessica Cowles (Maid of Honor)
Laura Short
Courtney Moore
Emily Moore
Jeanette Chang
Ann Noble Carlton
Erin Carlton
Sian Nicole Eastwood
Jocelyn Panter

Groomsmen
Kyle Carlton (Best Man)
Alan Williams
Mark Williams
Patrick Williams
Scott Dorough
Jimmy Dorough
Chris Veit
Lawton Dorough
Jack Dorough
Michael Christopher