Showboat

I enjoying watching Showboat again.
It stars Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, and Howard Keel.
I had not seen the movie in a long while.
And of things it had to do with New Year's.
At one point the father goes to see daughter in big city.
It apparently is on New Year's Eve and he gets drunk.
And at the end of the movie it also says "Happy New Year".
But I think that had more to do with romance rekindled.

Zoom and Bells of St Mary

This morning we watched Zoom.
It is classic slapstick with Tim Allen and Chevy Chase.
As well as Courtney Cox and the young super heroes.

We just finished watching Bells of St. Mary.
It's a true classic starring Bing Crosby and Ingrid Bergman.
It's one of my favorites especially this time of year.

Movies and Ice Cream

This morning we watched The Polar Express (2004).
That was the last of the Christmas movies.
This evening we watched Going My Way (1944) with Bing Crosby.
Midway thru the movie we stoppped for an ice cream break.
Okay it was for make it yourself sundaes.
Vanilla ice cream, caramel and chocolate toppings,
whipped cream and cherries and crushed honey nut cheerios.

Three Hymns

One Sunday a pastor told his congregation that the church needed some extra money and asked the people to prayerfully consider giving a little extra in the offering plate. He said that whoever gave the most would be able to pick out three hymns.

After the offering plates were passed, the pastor glanced down and noticed that someone had placed a $1,000 bill in offering. He was so excited that he immediately shared his joy with his congregation and said he'd like to personally thank the person who placed the money in the plate.

And there sat our Rosie all the way in the back shyly raised her hand. The pastor asked her to come to the front. Slowly she made her way to the pastor. He told her how wonderful it was that she gave so much and in thanksgiving asked her to pick out three hymns.

Her eyes brightened as she looked over the congregation, pointed to the three most handsome men in the building and said, "I'll take him and him and him!"

(Considered H of HUMORE)

Saturday HUMORE

HUMORE stands for HUMOR and MORE.
This will be our Saturday feature of the blog.
Saturdays we will post something HUMORE ...
H = Humor/Laughter
U = Unique/Interesting
M = Maine and New England
O = Odd or Fun Facts
R = Really Cool Links (more cool links)
E = Educational/Entertaining/Edifying
We expect some of the posts to be a combination...
Maybe Maine humor or something interesting about Maine.
We know there are family/friends from "away" that may visit.
This is also a way to get to know us even better by what amuses us.
Have created new category called "humore" so will be easy to find.

Update as of April 2008: renamed category to "Saturday"

Unaccompanied Scrooge

Four Christmas movies this time ...
Unaccompanied Minors (2006) - I was pleasantly surprised at this one. Thumbs UP!!!
Chasing Christmas (2005 tv) - I was NOT impressed at all. The daughter is the only good thing.
The Night They Saved Christmas (1984 tv) - On the unbelievable side with some family charm.
Scrooged (1988) - Bill Murray plays the scrooge character which is a cynically selfish tv executive. This one I like. I have seen it before.

Wedding Packages

We continue to get wedding packages. Thanks so much. With the $25 Amazon gift certificate we purchased and received 2 medium and 4 mini loaf pans. Thanks again Rue Home Group. Also (from them) received Oneida 24 piece flatware set, service for 4 in the Emma design. My parents also purchased for us a service for 8 which included some serving pieces. Thanks everyone. From Ann and Dawn (from Xenos office) we received a card and scrapbook album. They are both very lovely. Thanks ladies.

Miracle Box

Another three more Christmas movies were watched:
The Christmas Box (1995 tv) - very nice story
Mr. St. Nick (2002 tv) - I like it - it's fun and different
- love the romance between the cook and Mr St Nick
Miracle On 34th Street (1947) - It's truly a Classic!!!

Angel in the Clouds

Three more Christmas movies were watched:

The Angel Doll (2002) - A little slow to start, has a sad factor, but ends on an inspiring note.

Christmas in the Clouds (2001)- "A classic comedy of mistaken identity and romance set during the holiday season at a ski resort..." Excellent reviews if you look it up in imdb especially the one titled "enjoyable perfection" which I agree with.

The Nativity Story (2006) - I liked it. It stays pretty true to the facts we know in the Bible.

Merry Christmas

It was our first Christmas married.
My parents came over for dinner.
I made lasagna - a nice simple meal.
Mom brought roast beef and cranberry salad.

We also watched three movies today.
Holiday Inn with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.
White Christmas with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye.
Deck the Halls with Danny Devito and Matthew Broderick.

Cranberry Salad

1 pkg raspberry jello
1 c hot water
½ c cold water
1 small orange - peeled & sliced
½ c crushed pineapple (drained)
1 lb can whole cranberry sauce
¼ c chopped nuts (optional)

Variation: do not add orange or nuts.

Babes in Toyland

We watched Babes in Toyland this afternoon.
It is a favorite of mine - not sure why.
There are some great actors in it including Drew Barrymore,
Richard Mulligan, Eileen Brennan, Keanu Reeves, and Pat Morita.
This version was made for television in 1986.

Original concept was from an operetta.
It has been used many of times since then.
Babes in Toyland (1934) with Laurel and Hardy
Babes in Toyland (1961) with Ray Bolger and Annette Funicello
Babes in Toyland (1997) animated version with famous voices

Lasagne

1 pound ground beef
3/4 c chopped onion
2 T salad or olive oil

In large pan, lightly brown beef and onion in oil.

1 can (1 lb) tomatoes
2 cans ( 6 oz each) tomato paste
2 cups water
1 T chopped parsley
2 t salt
1 t sugar
1 t garlic powder
½ t pepper
½ t oregano leaves

Add tomatoes (put thru blender), paste, water,
parsley, salt, sugar, garlic powder, pepper, and oregano
- simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile cook lasagne (½ package/8 ounces) as directed.

1 pound ricotta cheese
8 oz Mozz cheese, shredded
1 cup grated Parmesian cheese

In 13x9x2 baking pan, spread about 1 cup sauce.

Then alternate layers ...
lasagne, sauce, ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesian,
lasagne, sauce, ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesian,

ending with ...
lasagne, sauce, Mozzarella cheese and Parmesian.

That's 15 layers - same as a Spaghetti Warehouse!!!

At this point you can wait till next day to actually bake.



Bake at 350 for 40 to 50 minutes until lightly browned and bubbling.
Allow to stand for 15 minutes, cut into squares.
Makes 8 servings.

The Twelve Days Of Christmas (Cathy style) part 4

On the tenth day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942), #100 on the AFI Top 100

On the eleventh day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), #45 on the AFI Top 100

On the twelfth day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Fantasia (1940), #58 on the AFI Top 100

Have I mentioned that I love my wife!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Leaving Comments

We've heard from a few people having trouble leaving comments.
We have it set up so you have to be registered at Blogger/Google.
And it requires a "word verification" so spammers beware!!!

Hopefully these are simple to follow instructions:
1) click on "comment"
2) leave actual message in text box
3) enter "word verification"
4) identify yourself ... (this may be the problem area)

You must have a Google/Blogger account.
To get one click Create Google Account.

Moody's Diner Pies

Randy loves banana creme pie and coconut creme pie.
I've always been told how good pies at Moody's Diner are.
So for Christmas I got someone to pick up one of each.

The pies are heavy and so is the cream packaged separately.
We are currently working on eating the banana creme pie.
Expect to get to the coconut creme pie by Christmas day.

Moody's Diner is located in Waldoboro, a small town here in Maine.

ChefMoz says "Best Pie in Maine" "tasty, inexpensive food"
"a must" "a tradition" "good food at reasonable prices"

Diner Down East: Old-fashioned Food and Frugality says
"Desserts are made every day on-site by two pastry chefs who arrive between 3 and 4 a.m. and work in a separate pastry kitchen at the back of the diner. Every week during the summer, the pastry kitchen goes through 450 dozen eggs; every day, it produces 60 pies, 10 dozen muffins, eight dozen doughnuts, and 50 dozen biscuits and rolls. All pies are prepared with a handmade lard crust and topped with real whipped cream."

Ham Salad

1 4 ½ oz can deviled ham
1 3 oz cream cheese, softened
1 ½ t horsradish
1 t lemon juice

I've made this twice and always double the recipe.
Because of the "twang" from the horseradish ...
it is not something I make very often.

Last year I made it for a Holiday gathering.
And this year for company who I knew liked it.
Randy tried it but not something he'll ask for.

I am partly an old school cook.
Instead of measuring out the horseradish ...
I just gave the squeeze bottle 3-4 squirts.

Christmas Food Gifts

Growing up parents loved getting handmade gifts.
I still enjoy giving gifts I have personally made.
I enjoy baking especially cookies and sweet bread.
I made 5 types of cookies and 2 types of the breads.
There was Cranberry Fruit Bread and Banana Bread

This year's cookie repertoire included the following:
Orange Oatmeal Chews (biggest) - rolled oats/orange juice
Spicy Crinkles (smallest) - rum flavor/coconut/allspice/cinnamon
Chocolate Shadows (darkest) - chocc chips/peppermint/peanut butter
Snickerdoodles (lightest) - cream of tartar/rolled in cinnamon
Macaroonies (chippy) - flaked coconut/chocolate chips

The Twelve Days of Christmas (Cathy style) part 3

On the seventh day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939), #29 on the AFI Top 100

On the eighth day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) Oscar Best Picture Winner

On the ninth day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Vertigo (1958), #61 on the AFI Top 100

Have I mentioned that I love my wife!!!!!!!!!

Coding html

Cathy showed me how to do some coding for some of our website pages. I entered a bunch of data (3 movie lists - AFI Top 100 (1998 Original), AFI Top 100 (2007 Updated) and Best Picture Oscars) and manuevered some of her coding to set it up.

It was pretty cool.

Christmas cards arrived

Got a Christmas card from my dad today. It also included a check for $50! Thanks dad!

(For those of you who don't know, I only reestablished contact with him a few days ago after at least 5 years! And it was probably at least 15 years before that time.)

Also got a Christmas card from my best man and his wife and a Christmas card from her Uncle Arthur & Aunt Barbara.

Tired Now

I did the last of my Christmas baking today.
That included Macaroonies and Banana Bread.

Mom and dad stopped by for a little bit.
They had been at Kohl's for our wedding gift registry.
What they purchased thus far was 2 muffin pans,
9 inch square baking dish and 13x9 casserole.
Some items were temporary out of stock.

For supper I made Chicken Casserole.
And for dessert Chocolate Pudding.

My throat has been sore since yesterday.
Think I will take it easy tomorrow.

Cookies to and from our neighbor

I finally got to meet the upstairs neighbor. And her oldest child.

We exchanged presents (cookies that we each had made). Cathy gave a variety of the ones she made plus a mini loaf of Banana Bread and our neighbor sent us a tin of frosted cookie wreaths.

They were so good that we're wondering if it's bad manners to put the empty tin outside her door with a note that pleads "Please refill!!!" Anyone know?

Chocolate Bread Pudding

5 or 6 slices bread, crumbled up
1 cup milk
1 t vanilla
1 egg
3 T cocoa
1 c sugar (can do 1/2 to 3/4)
salt nuts (optional)

Add butter to top.

Bake at 375 for 30 min (check sooner).

Another one mom made growing up for us.

Chicken Casserole

Combine in baking dish:
1 5 oz can boned chicken
2 10 ½ oz can cream of chicken soup
1 can green beans
1 med onion, chopped

Boil 1 c macaroni until done - add to chicken mixture.
Cover top with thin slices of cheese (can do last 5 minutes).

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or so.

I think mom also got this from Casserole Cookbook.

Banana Bread

2 t baking powder
1 3/4 c flour
¼ t baking soda
½ t salt
1/3 c shortening
2/3 c sugar
2 eggs beaten
1 c mashed bananas (about 4-5)

Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

Not sure where I got this one from.

Macaroonies

Beat:
2 eggs
1/8 t salt
3/4 c sugar

Fold in:
½ c flour
1 T butter, melted

Stir in:
2 c flaked coconut
1 c (6 oz) chocolate chips
1 t grated lemon or orange rind (I use lemon extract)
1 t vanilla

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls

Bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes.
Makes 2½ - 3 dozen.

From “Pillsbury Bakeoff” cookbook.

Christmas at LifeTime

Today I watched a couple movies on LifeTime:
His and Her Christmas - Two journalists write
a Christmas column for rival newspapers in the same city.
Crazy for Christmas - A limo driver tries to help
a wealthy man find his long-lost daughter on Christmas Eve.
LifeTime seems to be having Christmas movies ...
at noon and 2 PM and later 9 PM.

Today I also made Chocolate Shadows.

More wedding gifts received!!!

The mail brought us a $25 gift certificate from Barnes & Noble (Thank you to Mac & Jayne Ann) and a $25 gift certificate to Amazon (from the Rue Home Group - Thank you)!

Chocolate Shadows

Melt:
½ c chocolate chips
¼ t peppermint extract - let cool

Creme:
½ sugar
½ brown sugar
½ shortening
½ peanut butter

Add 1 unbeaten egg
Blend with 1¼ c flour and 3/4 t baking soda

Roll into balls.
Flatten with sugar coated glass bottom.

Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.
Makes 3 dozen.

From “Pillsbury Bakeoff” cookbook.

Changing Name

As the wife I now have to change my name everywhere.
Last week I made a bunch of calls to start the process.
Starting to see the end result from those calls.
Got a replacement credit card with new name.
Got a new AAA card and picked one up for hubby.
The town office gave me social security paperwork.

Contacts made thus far:
Banks and credit cards
Memberships like AAA
Work /retirement benefits
Insurances and Investments
As well as doctor and dentist

Things still to do:
Social Security Card
Driver's License
Car registration
Titles and Deeds
(Living) Will

The Twelve Days Of Christmas (Cathy style) part 2

On the fourth day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Doctor Zhivago (1965), #39 on the AFI Top 100

On the fifth day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Rear Window (1954), #42 on the AFI Top 100

On the sixth day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Double Indemnity (1944), #38 on the AFI Top 100

Have I mentioned that I love my wife!!!!!!

Attitude of Gratitude

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. Colossians 3:15-17

This was in our couple's devotional last night.
While we are to praise and give thanks to God ...
we should also have an atittude of gratitude to our spouse.
I want him to know I do notice and appreciate his acts of kindness.
I want to publicly give some big kudos to my dear husband.

He is so totally awesome. Always looking to serve me.
He gave me a backrub last night. That felt so good.
Was outside yesterday digging out from a snow storm.
Has no problem helping out including clearing the table.
When I asked him to get laundry the other day ...
he went the extra step of folding it for me.

Dinner is Served

Tonight we watched the movie Ratatouille.
It's an animated tale about inheritance and friendship and food.
For the curious (like me) ratatouille is a poor farmer's dish.
It is made in summer with vegetables in season like zucchini,
tomatoes, green aad red peppers,onion and garlic.

Today I was busy baking Snickerdoodles and Spicy Crinkles.
I have been putting cookies in freezer in snack bags.
Two for pastor Frank, three for upstairs neighbor,
three for cousin's family, and four for dad.
And 6 per bag for us for later.

Spicy Crinkles

Creme:
½ c sugar
¼ c brown sugar
½ c shortening

Blend in:
1 unbeaten egg
2 t rum flavor

Add:
½ c coconut
1¼ c flour
1 t baking soda
1 t allspice
2½ t cinnamon

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
Makes 2½ dozen.

From “Pillsbury Bakeoff” cookbook.

Snickerdoodles

Mix:
½ c shortening
3/4 c sugar
1 egg

Add:
1 1/3 c flour
1 t cream of tartar *
½ t baking soda
1/8 t salt

Roll into balls. (original says the size of walnuts)
Roll in mixture of 1 T sugar and 1 t cinnamon.

Bake at 400 for 8-10 minutes.
Makes 2½ dozen.

* First time I accidently used tartar sauce and it was fine.
From “Dinner for Two” cookbook.

Leslie Nielsen Christmas

We watched two movies with Leslie Nielen playing Santa.
The first was Santa Who? where Santa has amnesia.
Then we viewed All I Want for Christmas.

The latter also starred many others I recognized ...
Jamey Sheridan (father) from Law and Order: Criminal Intent
Harley Jane Kozak (mother) from Parenthood
Thora Birch (daughter) from Hocus Pocus
And Lauren Bacall

I also finally started my Holiday baking today.
I made Cranberry Fruit Bread and Orange Oatmeal Chews.

Orange Oatmeal Chews

Toast 1 c rolled oats at 350 for 10 min. Cool

Sift:
3/4 c flour
½ t salt
½ t baking powder
½ t baking soda

Add:
½ c sugar
½ c firmly packed brown sugar
½ c shortening creamed well

Blend:
1 unbeaten egg
1 t vanilla
2 T orange rind (I use juice)

Stir dry ingredients with oats.
Drop by teaspoonsfuls at least 2 inches apart.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes.
Makes 2½ dozen.

From “Pillsbury Bakeoff” cookbook.

Cranberry Fruit Bread

Sift:
2¼ c flour
1 c sugar
2¼ t baking powder
1 t salt
½ t cinnamon
¼ t nutmeg

Stir in:
1 c Wheat Chex crushed to ½ c
1/3 c raisins

Combine:
1 eggs, slightly beaten
2 T oil
1/3 c orange juice
1 c drained whole cranberry sauce
Add to dry ingredients.

Bake at 350 for 60-65 minutes.

Variation: I use whole can of cranberry sauce.
From “Chex: The Natural Way to Good Cooking”.

All Nighters

We have both pulled all nighters lately.
Thursday into Friday ...
I was working on layout for newsletter.
Friday into Saturday ...
Randy was working on printing and writing notes.

We will know better next time how long it takes.
We were pushing to get some of the letters in the mail.
We indeed did get a number of batches sent out Saturday AM.
Some are headed to Xenos Christian school
- and we knew they will go on vacation midweek.

The Twelve Days Of Christmas (Cathy style) part 1

On the first day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Psycho (1960) , #18 on the AFI Top 100

On the second day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD Forbidden Planet (1956), a sci-fi classic

On the third day of Christmas my dear wife gave to me:
The DVD A Place In The Sun (1951), #92 on the AFI Top 100

I'm looking forward to the rest of the days!

Have I mentioned that I love my wife!!!

Christmas Projects

This morning I finished the ornaments I was making.
They are out of plastic canvas and yarn.
I made three and a half dozen.

On one side is tree with snow I designed ...
and on the other side is cat image I redesigned.
Did not post image till January so they were surprise.


Today we also finishing up the newsletter.
Just have the printing and stuffing of them to go.
And Randy is working on leaving personal notes on many.

A license or two

Went out before the snow storm to the department of motor vehicles to change my license. It cost me $40! But I don't have to do it again until 2013. I'll receive the picture license in about 30 days. (I didn't have to wait long in line either!)

Also picked up our marriage license (and a few copies). Got to see the new building they moved to - much more space.

And lastly, did a little bit of shopping to get us through the rest of the week or so.

Slow Cooker

We just received Rival 3 1/2 quart Slow Cooker.
Thank you Rue Home Group from Xenos.
This was on our Amazon Bridal Wish List.

Also wanted to send out "thanks" to the Benners.
When we were reviewing cards we realized ...
we forgot to thank you guys for monetary gift.

Christmas Letter

Started to finalize our Christmas Letter. Decided to do one especially for Randy's church family he just left back in Ohio. It includes an introduction, Christmas message about hope, short article by each of us and will include pictures from December 1st wedding and information about our website.

We are also trying to find all the addresses of people we want to send the letter and cards too. I have most of my list complete. Then again I have a much smaller list than Randy. He has asked some others to help him get them all. Thanks to those that can help him.

We didn't do it!!!

There was an earthquake at 5:02 am just a few miles away from us in the next town over. Though it was only a 2.2, Cathy said it sounded like a boom and then some rumbling. It even woke the upstairs neighbor.

Of course, I slept through it.

Harriet the Spy

After lunch we watched Harriet the Spy.
I remember it was heavily promoted as a Rosie O'Donnell movie.
Since I did not care for her I was not too keen on watching it.
Luckily she was only in it for a bit at the beginning ...
and a short reappearance towards the end.
I like mystery so interested in it because of "spy" in the title.
It was moreso about how cruel childen can be to one another.
Randy has begged me to never ask to watch it again. No worry!

Sponge Bath

The one week of seclusion for honeymoon is over.
But we certainly do NOT want the romance to end.
This evening I lit a candle while we had dinner.
After dinner I had Randy bring a basin of hot water.
I proceeded to give him a partial sponge bath.
With a wash cloth I cleaned his back, chest and feet.
In return he washed my back and lower legs and feet.
A little later Randy pulled out a musical red rose ...
and a box of chocolates. (Need to stop the chocolate for new year)

Early Christmas Present

Randy and I are both bad at waiting to give gifts.
He was not able to fall asleep so was looking thru boxes.
He happened upon some books he had planned ...
to give me for Christmas but I got them early!!!
They are all Bible studies by Cynthia Heald.
Becoming A Woman of Excellence (Phil 1:10)
Becoming A Woman of Freedom (Hebrews 12:1)
Becoming A Woman of Purpose (Romans 8:28)
Becoming A Woman of Prayer (Jeremiah 33:3)
Becoming A Woman of Grace (Isaiah 30:18)
Becoming A Woman of Faith (Hebrews 12:2)

Christmas and Friends

This morning we worked on Christmas lists.
We needed to know how many cards to purchase.
And a list of people to receive handmade ornaments.

Randy recently moved 900 miles from his church family.
The lists mainly compromise of Randy's friends.
He wants to be sure to keep in contact.

This afternoon we logged onto Christian website we met at.
We have some really wonderful friends there as well.
They were happy to see us return to posting.

Dinner and a Movie #2

We watched The Thing Called Love with River Phoenix,
Samantha Mathis, Dermot Mulroney and Sandra Bullock.
It's about young country western writers trying to make it in Nashville.
I love country western songs so liked that aspect of the movie.
Guest appearances by Pam Tillis and Trisha Yearwood as themselves.
I really enjoyed the movie although it was 2 hours long.
We put the Hamburger Casserole in the oven at the beginning...
then paused half way thru the movie to have dinner.
Then later that night we played the games Phase 10 and Wordsters.

Hamburger Casserole

1½ C crushed potato chips
1 pound ground beef
1 sm minced onion (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
1 can chicken noodle soup
1 can water

Place 1 C crushed chips in bottom of casserole.
Brown ground beef with onion. Season.
Add chicken noodle soup and water. Mix well.
Pour over chips; sprinkle top with rest of chips.

Bake at 350 for 1 hour

Mom got this recipe from a Casserole Cookbook.

The Ultimate Gift

This is the first time we turned on the phone or tv all week.
We ordered delivery from Pizza Hut.
We had finished up the Sicilian Meat Roll at lunch.
Then we figured a movie would go good with the pizza.
Randy picked The Ultimate Gift with Abigail Breslin.
It was a great movie. Brought us to tears a few times.

The movie was about a grandfather dying and what he left.
In order to get the inheritance Jason had to complete twelve tasks.
In turn these tasks were teaching him life lessons thru self discovery.
The "ultimate" gift was really 12 in 1:
the gift of work, money, friends, learning, problems, family,
laughter, dreams, giving, gratitude, a day, and love.

Husband

Husband, you are amazing

H is for honorable
... you are a standup guy that always tries to do your best

U is for unwavering
... you have consistently shared your time and love
with me since you started pursuing me

S is for sincere
... you have been honest and open about your past
and expectations of our future

B is for brave
... you allowed yourself to start a long distance relationship
and then moved 900 miles from home

A is for awesome
... your love and understanding of me awe me

N is for nice
... you are truly a nice shy guy that I have the honor of calling mine

D is for devoted
... your desire to love, serve and please me
is so romantic and endearing

Randy, my darling husband,
I thank God for finding you.
And being allowed to be your wife!!!!
I look forward to loving, serving and pleasing you.

I wrote the above poem for Randy about a month ago.
I shared it with him right away ...
but waited till we wed to share with others.

Honeymoon Blogging

We are NOT blogging everyday. We ARE honeymooning!!!!
I am writing down noteworthy items to blog about daily.
Yesterday we both sat down and wrote up our ...
wedding day viewpoints: Groom's and Bride's.
In addition I added the Wedding Day Facts.
This morning I added photo entry posts of
Our Wedding Cake, Us with Attendants and Our Wedding Rings.
Also this morning I added entries for Sunday thru Tuesday ...
Praise God, Love Poems, While Sleeping and Snow Message.

Snow Message

Randy noticed the large expanse of fresh snow out our window.
He went outside and left me a message saying "I love Cathy!".
He is very romantic and creative. I think I'll keep him around.

Due to getting snow Randy had to go outside and shovel the walkway.
He finally wore the LL Bean jacket I had given him and he loves it.

He was surprised that a jacket so thin(sulate) kept him so warm.

While Sleeping

While I, Cathy, was sleeping ...
Randy was in the kitchen at 2:30 AM doing dishes.

He wanted to surprise me and that he certainly did.

We had a deal: he had to wash dishes if I cooked breakfast.

I had made scrambled eggs, left over potatoes and pan fried ham.

I really was not going to hold him to that was just waiting to do them.

He eventually came back to bed and while Randy was sleeping ...
I took our uploaded wedding pics and created a wedding photo site.

Some of those images can be seen by clicking on category wedding.

Love Poems

Randy is very romantic and read some love poems to me.
To My Dear and Loving Husband by Anne Bradstreet
My First Love by F. Scott Fitzgerald
My Love by ee cummings
Note: I had mentioned I am related to Anne Bradstreet

Did it snow???

Looks like it did.

It was our first substantial snowfall.

Praise God

This is our first full day as husband and wife.
We started the day by listening to some praise songs on CD.
Randy also read to me from Song of Solomon.

Our Wedding Rings

They are white gold. Randy's is 4mm while Cathy's is 2mm.
Our hands are on a white bride's Bible held instead of flowers.
Our sincere desire is to keep God at the center of our marriage.

Us with Attendants

Our Wedding Cake

Wedding Day Viewpoint of Groom

I arrived at her parents for my final night of stay around 12:20 am (after leaving Cathy's at 11:59 pm, so I wouldn't see her on the "wedding day"). My bed was in a different room since my previous room went to John & Sarah, but it was easy to find since the light was left on.

I woke up the first time at 4:11 am. I think her mom was stirring but since it was too early for me, I went back to sleep.

I woke up the second time at 5:55 am. Actually got up and watched the news with her parents. But eventually went back to bed.

Third time's a charm. Around 8ish I called Cathy from my cell phone to say good morning. Right after I got off the phone, her mom opened up the door saying they needed to move me to their room. That bed disappeared within 5 minutes of my leaving it!

I managed to stay up! John and her dad had left to get the food, the flowers and the cake sometime around 9ish and got it back fairly quickly. It didn't take long to get it all set up.

I called Mike around 10ish to see how they were doing (good). Cathy called soon after 10 to say that she was going to take a nap and to wake her at 10:30. She called back about a minute later to suggest that I take a few pictures of them setting up. (Looks like I snapped around 15 on the disposable camera I had.)

I finally got into the shower around 10:20ish and dressed in her parent's room. The phone rang while I was dressing and when I got out into the other room, heard her mom say that we forgot about Cathy (it was nearly 11). [OOPS!]

Her dad finally left to get my bride just before 12. Cathy called sometime after that for them to get the curling iron hot. Seemed like 15 minutes later someone remembered to plug in the curling iron! Then they started to watch for the car - at which point her mom reminded me that I'll have to go to the back room so I don't see my bride too early.

"There they are!" and "Go!" were said shortly after. I disappeared to the back room. Mike came back there to keep me company and we made small talk while waiting. Finally, Pastor Frank arrived and we started making the last minute preparations of the witnesses signatures on the form and with the rings (making sure the best man and the matron of honor had the opposite rings to give to us).

Finally, after everyone except her dad and my bride were in the room, the time had arrived! I knew she was at the door when everyone stood up. And then she came through! She sat next to me!! She looked lovely!!!

Pastor Frank started with the little boys joke about how many wives we're allowed (16! - fo(u)r better, fo(u)r worse, fo(u)r richer, fo(u)r poorer - go ahead and groan, you know you want to!). Then he asked who gives her away and her dad replied "Her mother and I". And he gave a good presentation of the gospel and the love that Christ has for His bride and charged me to have that same love for Cathy!

The big moment - I said "I most certainly do!". Cathy said "I certainly do!" for her big moment. Then he asked us to hold hands and noticed that we already were. We each repeated the vows after him, to which afterwards he got to say his big words "By the powers invested..., I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your wife."

Our photographer got a few pictures with the parents, the attendants and we think with John & Sarah but we're not sure - we'll see when we get the pictures back.

FOOD time! (It took her mom a while to think about clinking glasses (they were plastic though!) but we had already snuck a few kisses while nobody noticed. Sherry finally clinked on her coffee cup to get us to kiss.)

Then cake cutting time. We sliced off a piece and fed each other together nicely. Sherry cut the rest and served it to the rest of the party. A little while later, the best man gave a wonderful toast!

We left a little while later.

The rest is between us!!!

Wedding Day Viewpoint of Bride

Randy left the apartment last night right at 11:59 PM.
I slept okay though I never sleep thru the night.
Last night I also changed which dress I was going to wear.
So this morning I looked thru jewelry to see what might work.
I selected silver and pearl options in necklaces and bracelets.
I placed them in a case to take with me to wedding to decide later.

At ten o'clock I called mom at the house ...
to ask them to be sure to call me back at 10:30.
I wanted to take a catnap before taking my shower.
Close to eleven o'clock I realized they hadn't call me back.
I called the house and said "Forget the bride?"
And then I jumped into the shower.

I was ready when dad came to pick me up.
We got to the house probably around 12:30 PM.
Wedding was to be at 1 PM in the afternoon.
I got scooted off to mom and dad's room.
I had yet to dress and finish hair.

Sherry and Sarah helped me with the jewelry.
I moved my silver engagement ring to right hand.
Added a silver tennis bracelet to that wrist.
Put three stretch pearl bracelets on left wrist.
Also wore a pearl necklace at my neckline.

At 1 PM I headed to the sunroom where Randy was waiting.
Randy and I sat on benches since I can not stand too long.
We faced the guests while Pastor Frank was off to side.
We exchanged our marriage vows and wedding rings.

We then moved to the living room for the reception.
There was a nice floral arrangement on the table.
The food was self served by walking around kitchen table.
There were sandwiches, sweets, chips, pickles and punch.

The wedding cake was on table in the living room.
We cut the first slice of the wedding cake together.
We very nicely fed it to one another at the same time.
We periodically kissed as others chatted oblivious to us.

We waited till guests started leaving before making our departure.
We had to wait for some car shuffling before we could get out.
When we got to the apartment we shut off the phones ...
Since are honeymooning in the apartment.

Wedding Day Facts

The wedding was at my parent's home where I grew up.
Due to weather we could not exchange vows in gazebo.

Wedding participants:
Randy the groom and Cathy the bride
The bride's parents, Ron and Connie
The bride's brother John and wife Sarah
Mike the best man - Randy's former boss from Ohio
Sherry the matron of honor - Cathy's cousin's wife
Florence, family friend and amateur photographer
Pastor Frank, wife Laura and adult daughter Pam
Randy and Cathy's friend JD also from Ohio

Gifts received at wedding:
Wedding photo scrapbook from Florence
Bed, Bath and Beyond gift certificate from Pam